About Malaria
Malaria, one of the world's most common and serious tropical diseases, causes at least one million deaths every year. More than half ...
Malaria in Africa
At least 300 million acute cases of malaria occur worldwide each year, resulting in more than two million deaths annually -- more than 90% of which are estimated to occur in sub-Saharan Africa...
Global Initiative
On 25 April 2000, African leaders from 44 malaria-endemic countries participated in the first-ever African Summit on Malaria in Abuja, Nigeria. To highlight the gravity of the malaria situation on the continent, the leaders at the Summit also declared that 25 April ...
Malaria, one of the world's most common and serious tropical diseases, causes at least one million deaths every year. More than half of the world's population is at risk of acquiring malaria, and the proportion increases each year because of deteriorating health systems, growing drug and insecticide resistance, climate change, natural disasters and armed conflict.
At least 300 million acute cases of malaria occur worldwide each year, resulting in more than two million deaths annually -- more than 90% of which are estimated to occur in sub-Saharan Africa, mostly among women and children under five years of age. Malaria is a serious disease that is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected female Anopheles mosquito. Symptoms may include fever and flu-like illness, including chills, headache, muscle aches, and fatigue. Malaria, if not immediately treated, may cause kidney failure, coma, and even death.
The predominant species and also the most dangerous of the four species of human malaria is Plasmodium falciparum. Today, malaria outbreaks are being reported in some locations of Africa that had been previously thought to be at elevations too high for malaria transmission, such as the highlands of Kenya. Some scientists hypothesize this is due to climatic change, while others hypothesize that this is due to human migration. Also, malaria has resurged in certain locations of Africa that had previously had effective control programs, such as Madagascar, South Africa, and Zanzibar.
Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) are an important tool to fight death and disease due to malaria, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Source: World Health Organization
Source: World Health Organization
There are several reasons why Africa bears an overwhelming proportion of the malaria burden: 1) most malaria infections in Africa are caused by Plasmodium falciparum, the most severe and life-threatening form of the disease, 2) the region is also home to the most efficient, and therefore deadly, species of the mosquitoes which transmits the disease, and 3) many countries lack the infrastructures and resources necessary to undertake sustainable campaigns against malaria.
In 2000, African countries committed themselves to providing 60% of the high risk population with intermittent preventive treatment (IPT), which include pregnant women. Whereas some countries in northern Africa and eastern Africa have reached some of the target population due to recent increase in funding, most remaining countries are still faced with numerous challenges.
With respect to preventative methods, the number of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITN) has increased 10 folds in the last three years in 14 countries. However, despite this seemingly improved malaria situation, the problem of access and distribution still remains. Surveys show that only primarily urban and relatively wealthy households own ITNs, rather than poor rural households where people are at higher risk of contacting malaria.
Malaria in Africa today is understood to be both a disease of poverty and a cause of poverty. Annual economic growth in countries with high malaria transmission has historically been lower than in countries without malaria. Economists believe that malaria is responsible for a growth penalty of up to 1.3%% per year in some African countries. When compounded over the years, this penalty leads to substantial differences in GDP between countries with and without malaria and severely restrains the economic growth of the entire region.
Malaria has a direct impact on Africa's human resources, because not only does it result in lost life and lost productivity due to illness and premature death, it also hampers children's schooling and social development through both absenteeism and permanent neurological and other damage associated with severe episodes of the disease.
One of the greatest challenges facing Africa in the fight against malaria is drug resistance. Resistance to chloroquine (CQ), the cheapest and most widely used antimalarial. Further resistance to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP), the first and least expensive alternative to CQ, is also on the rise in east and southern Africa. As a result of these trends, many countries are having to change their treatment policies with the use of more expensive drugs, including the combinations of drugs.
