Fighting Malaria

• 104 million bed nets were distributed to protect families from transmission
• 108 million malaria drug treatments were delivered

The Global Malaria Epidemic

Malaria, one of the world's most common and serious tropical diseases, is a protozoal infection transmitted from human to human by mosquitoes.

Each year, malaria causes nearly one million deaths, mostly among children under 5 years of age, and an additional 189 to 327 million clinical cases, the majority of which occur in the world's poorest countries.

Almost half the world’s population, that is 3.3 billion people, is at risk for malaria, and the proportion increases yearly due to deteriorating health systems, growing drug and insecticide resistance, climate change, and war.

High-risk groups include children, pregnant women, travelers, refugees, displaced persons, and laborers entering endemic areas.

Impact Within and Outside the African Region

Malaria is prevalent in 109 countries, 45 of which are within the WHO African Region. In 2006, 86 percent of malaria cases occurred in the African Region, with a high concentration (80 percent) in 13 countries. Among the cases that occurred outside the African Region, 80 percent were in India, Sudan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Pakistan.

Ninety percent of malaria deaths occur in Africa. Each day approximately 2,200 Africans die from malaria, 85 percent are children under 5 years of age.

Social, Economic, and Development Impact

Malaria increases poverty by significantly reducing productivity and social stability.

Rural and poor populations carry the overwhelming burden of malaria because access to effective treatment is extremely limited. In rural areas, the infection rates are highest during the rainy season - a time of intense agricultural activity. Research indicates that families affected by malaria clear 60 percent less crops than other families.

Malaria has been estimated to cost Africa more than US$ 12 billion every year in lost GDP, even though it could be controlled for a fraction of that sum.

Prevention and Care

The combination of tools to prevent and treat malaria includes long-lasting insecticidal nets and artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), supported by indoor residual spraying of insecticide and intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy. In 2005, the World Health Assembly set targets of more than 80 percent coverage of these key interventions by 2010.

Recent studies in four African countries showed that high coverage of both prevention and treatment interventions can decrease malaria mortality in children up to 50%, and greatly reduce the overall burden of malaria in both adults and children. 

Unfortunately, in most African countries, coverage of these interventions is far below the 80 percent target. Surveys in 18 African countries found that 34 percent of households owned an insecticide-treated net; 23 percent of children and 27 percent of pregnant women slept under an insecticide-treated net; 38 percent of children with fever were treated with antimalarial drugs, but only 3 percent with ACT; and 18 percent of women used intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy. Only five African countries reported coverage of indoor residual spraying sufficient to protect at least 70 percent of people at risk of malaria.

In regions other than Africa, intervention coverage is difficult to measure because household surveys are uncommon, preventive methods usually target high-risk populations of unknown size, and National Malaria Control Programmes do not report on diagnosis and treatment in the private sector.

The 2001 report of the WHO Commission on Macroeconomics and Health estimated that up to US$2 billion are needed each year to achieve the goal of halving the burden of malaria by 2010. While contributions from the international community and countries themselves are steadily increasing, much work and investment is still needed, especially in Africa, to protect the millions at risk.