One in 10 people in the world have malaria and it kills more children than any other disease.
Scientists have been trying to find a cure or vaccine for years.
They have now announced that although they're not there yet, they have made a big breakthrough and hope to have one available by 2010.
The biggest challenge is finding a vaccine that will be affordable to everyone who needs it.
In the meantime doctors will continue to fight it however they can - malaria doesn't necessarily kill and can be treated if it's caught very early.
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