After unprecedented global
success in controlling malaria, progress has stalled, the United Nations health
agency reported Wednesday, citing an estimated four million more cases in 2016
than in 2015, and around 445,000 deaths.
The 2017 World Malaria Report presents a comprehensive state of
play in global progress in the fight against malaria.
"In recent years, we have
made major gains in the fight against malaria," said Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO).
"We are now at a turning point. Without urgent action, we
risk going backwards, and missing the global malaria targets for 2020 and
beyond," he added.
The WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria calls for
reductions of at least 40 per cent in malaria case incidence and mortality
rates by the year 2020. Yet, according to the new report, the world is not on
track to reach these critical milestones.
A major problem is insufficient funding, resulting in major
coverage gaps for insecticide-treated nets, medicines and other life-saving
tools.
In 2016, a $2.7 billion investment in malaria control efforts
was well below the global $6.5 billion required annually by 2020 to meet the
2030 targets of the WHO global malaria strategy. Providing $800 million,
governments of endemic countries represented 31 per cent of the total funding.
Probing
the numbers
The report shows that, in 2016, there were an estimated 216
million cases of malaria in 91 countries - up from 211 million cases in 2015 -
with a global malaria death tally estimated at 445,000 compared to 446,000 the
previous year.
While the rate of new cases of malaria has fallen overall, since
2014 the trend has levelled off and even reversed in some regions. Malaria
mortality rates followed a similar pattern.
The African region continues to
bear an estimated 90 per cent of all malaria cases and deaths worldwide, with
15 countries - all but one in sub-Saharan Africa - carrying 80 per cent of the
global malaria burden.
"Clearly, if we are to get the global malaria response back
on track, supporting the most heavily affected countries in the African region
must be the primary focus," said Mr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
In most malaria-affected countries, sleeping under an
insecticide-treated bednet (ITN) is the most common and effective
infection-prevention method. Spraying insecticide inside homes is also
effective.
While the African region has seen a major increase in diagnostic
testing in the public health sector - with 70 per cent of those treated having
received artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), the most effective
antimalarial medicines - access to the public health system in many areas
remains low. National-level surveys there show that only about 34 per cent of
children with a fever see a public health medical provider.
The report also outlines
additional challenges in the global malaria response, including the risks posed
by conflict and crises in malaria endemic zones. WHO is currently supporting
malaria responses in Nigeria, South Sudan, Venezuela and Yemen, where ongoing
humanitarian crises pose serious health risks.
"We are at a crossroads in the response to malaria,"
said Dr. Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme.
"We hope this report serves as a wake-up call for the
global health community. Meeting the global malaria targets will only be
possible through greater investment and expanded coverage of core tools that
prevent, diagnose and treat malaria. Robust financing for the research and
development of new tools is equally critical," he asserted.
#UNNewsService
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