Africa may miss 75% reduction rate in malaria cases, deaths, says WHO

IN spite of the progress made so far, African countries are not likely to attain the World Health Assembly target of 75% reduction in malaria cases and deaths by 2015, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.

WHO has also stressed the urgent need to tackle malaria drug resistance and other emerging threats, such as mosquito resistance to insecticides.

Also, ahead of the World Malaria Day 2015, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, has stressed the need for increased malaria funding.

This, according to Moeti, is needed in order to save lives and further expand access to malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment services in Africa.

In a statement to mark the World Malaria Day, Moeti observed that malaria prone countries were still far from achieving universal coverage of malaria interventions.

The World Malaria Day 2015 is commemorated tomorrow. This year’s theme is: “Invest in the future. Defeat malaria.”

The theme, according to WHO, highlights the need for increased financial and human resources, commodities and infrastructural investments to control and eliminate this life-threatening disease.

The statement noted: “Malaria can be prevented or controlled through the use of long lasting insecticidal bed nets (LLINs), indoor residual spraying (IRS), preventive therapies for pregnant women, children under five and infants, as well as quality-assured diagnostic testing and treatment.

“This is even more critical given the urgent need to tackle malaria drug resistance and other emerging threats, such as mosquito resistance to insecticides. In 2013, an estimated 163 million cases of malaria occurred in the African region. This caused approximately 528,000 deaths. Between 2000 and 2013, the estimated number of malaria cases in the at risk population declined by 34% while malaria death rates declined by 54% in the African region.

“Limited access to and underutilization of available malaria interventions within countries are the major causes of excessively high burdens of malaria cases and deaths. For instance in 2013, 33% of households in the region still did not own even a single LLIN and only 29% of households had enough LLINs for all household members. There is a global consensus to reduce malaria mortality and incidence rates by at least 90% by 2030 and eliminate malaria.

The proportion of people protected by at least one malaria control method has increased in recent years but total funding will only match needs if international donors and partners and national governments prioritize further investments in malaria control.”

Moeti called on countries and stakeholders to focus on targeting available resources at places where the burden of malaria is highest and at the people and groups who face the highest risk of malaria.

“I would also like to urge countries and stakeholders to invest in national and community systems in order to test every suspected case of malaria before administering treatment. All confirmed malaria cases should also be documented and reported in order to determine the geographic areas where malaria is most prevalent and the population groups that are at the greatest risk.

“On its part, the WHO Regional Office for Africa will continue to provide evidence-based guidance to all countries and stakeholders to better target malaria interventions, strengthen national health systems towards universal health coverage, and accelerate progress towards a malaria-free Africa,” she stressed.