Malaria death rate has plunged by 60 per
cent since 2000, translating into 6.2 million lives, mainly children
saved, a joint World Health Organisation and UNICEF report released on
Thursday has said.
The report, which was made available to
newsmen in Lagos, was entitled, “Achieving the Malaria Millennium
Development Goal Target.’’
It shows that the malaria MDG target of
halting and reversing the incidence of malaria by 2015 has been met
“convincingly,’’ with new malaria cases dropping by 37 per cent in 15
years.
The report said that between 2000 and
2015, the under-5 malaria death rate fell by 65 per cent or estimated
5.9 million children lives saved.
“Malaria kills mostly young children, especially those living in the poorest and most remote places.
“So, the best way to celebrate global progress in the fight against it is to recommit ourselves to reaching and treating them.
“We know how to prevent and treat malaria. Since we can do it, we must,” said UNICEF Executive Director, Anthony Lake.
The Director-General of WHO, Dr. Margaret
Chan, said, “Global malaria control is one of the great public health
success stories of the past 15 years.
“It is a sign that our strategies are on
target and that we can beat this ancient killer which still claims
hundreds of thousands of lives, mostly children, each year.’’
The report said that countries were on the verge of eliminating malaria.
“In 2014, 13 countries reported zero cases of the disease and six countries reported fewer than 10 cases.
“The fastest decreases were seen in the
Caucasus and Central Asia, which reported zero cases in 2014, and in
Eastern Asia,’’ the report said.
It said that despite tremendous progress, malaria remains an acute public health problem in many regions.
“In 2015 alone, there were an estimated
214 million new cases of malaria, and approximately 438,000 people died
of this preventable and treatable disease.
“About 3.2 billion people- almost half of the world’s population- are at risk of malaria.
“Some countries continue to carry a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden.
“Fifteen countries, mainly in sub-Saharan
Africa, accounted for 80 per cent of malaria cases and 78 per cent of
deaths globally in 2015,’’ the report said.
It said that children under five account for more than two-thirds of all deaths associated with malaria.
The report also said that the global bi-lateral and multi-lateral funding for malaria had increased 20-fold since 2000.
It added that domestic investments within malaria-affected countries have also increased year by year.
“A number of donor governments have made the fight against malaria a high global health priority.
“In the United States of America, the
President’s Malaria Initiatives have mobilised hundreds of millions of
dollars for treatment and prevention.
“The government of the United Kingdom tripled its funding for malaria control between 2008 and 2015.
“Many governments have also channelled
their investments through the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis
and Malaria directly,’’ the report said.
It quoted Justine Greening, the Secretary
of State for International Development of the United Kingdom, as
saying, “A healthy, prosperous world is in all our interests.
“The prevention of deadly diseases is one of the smartest investments we can make.
“That is why working with
malaria-affected countries and partners, like the Global Fund, Britain
will continue to provide bed nets to millions, tackle resistance to life
saving medicines and insecticides, and boost health systems across
Africa.”
According to the report, the surge in
funding has led to an unprecedented expansion in the delivery of core
interventions across sub-Saharan Africa. CONTINUE READING
SOURCE : PUNCH
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