Malaria Claims 584,000 Lives

Margaret Chan
THE NUMBER of people dying from malaria reached an estimated 584,000 worldwide in 2013, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has stated.

The figure, contained in a World Malaria Report 2014 by the WHO also pegged malaria deaths among children under five years at 453,000.

The report, released yesterday, said globally, 3.2 billion people in 97 countries and territories were at risk of being infected with malaria.

In 2013, there were an estimated 198 million malaria cases worldwide, 82 percent of which were in the WHO African region.

Gains
The number of people dying from malaria has, however, fallen dramatically since 2000 and malaria cases are also steadily declining, the report indicated.

Between 2000 and 2013, the malaria mortality rate decreased by 47 percent worldwide and by 54 percent in the WHO African Region – where about 90 percent of malaria deaths occur.

The report also revealed that new analysis across sub-Saharan Africa showed that despite a 43 percent population increase, fewer people are infected or carry asymptomatic malaria infections every year: the number of people infected fell from 173 million in 2000 to 128 million in 2013.

Based on an assessment of trends in reported malaria cases, a total of 64 countries are on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of reversing the incidence of malaria. Of these, 55 are on track to meet Roll Back Malaria and World Health Assembly targets of reducing malaria case incidence rates by 75 percent by 2015.

'We can win the fight against malaria,' said Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General, WHO. 'We have the right tools and our defences are working. But we still need to get those tools to a lot more people if we are to make these gains sustainable.'

Between 2000 and 2013, access to insecticide-treated bed nets increased substantially, the report stated, with almost half of all people at risk of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa had access to an insecticide-treated net, a marked increase from just three percent in 2004.

This trend is set to continue, with a record 214 million bed nets scheduled for delivery to endemic countries in Africa by the end of the year.

The report, however, noted that the outbreak in West Africa has had a devastating impact on malaria treatment and the roll-out of malaria interventions.

The WHO in response, have issued new guidance on temporary measures to control the disease during the Ebola outbreak

In addition, international donor financing is being stepped up to meet the further recommendation that bed nets be distributed to all affected areas.

By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri