Focus on eradicating malaria

MORE than 200 million cases of malaria and 400,000 malaria related-deaths occur every year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
WHO director-general Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus said most of them were children and pregnant women in Africa.
Dr Ghebreyesus, who started his career as a malaria researcher, said he wanted to eradicate malaria.
“Since 2000, malaria deaths have fallen by more than half, and we have succeeded in eliminating it from many parts of the world,” he said.
“The WHO has now certified 40 countries as malaria-free; most recently China, which reported 30 million cases a year in the 1940s.
Dr Ghebreyesus said the Covid-19 pandemic had not helped. “A WHO survey of 105 countries last year showed that 46 per cent reported disruptions in malaria diagnosis and treatment,” Dr Ghebreyesus said.
“The full impact of the pandemic on malaria may not be known for some time.
“But it is clear we have a lot of work to do to realise our vision of a malaria-free world.
“For starters, we should make much better use of the tools we have today to prevent, detect and treat malaria.”
Dr Ghebreyesus said the WHO’s strategic advisory group on malaria eradication had been clear “that we will need new tools to realise our vision of a malaria-free world, including new vaccines”.
“For several decades, many major vaccine developers have abandoned their attempts to develop malaria vaccines.”
Dr Ghebreyesus said six years ago, the world’s first malaria vaccine was approved.
Two years ago, the WHO and its partners began a pilot programme to roll it out in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi.