19 September 2008
analysis
Washington, DC — Despite big increases in the supply of mosquito nets ...the number available in 2006 was still far below need in almost all countries.
The procurement of antimalarial medicines through public health services also increased sharply, but access to treatment, especially of artemisin-based combination therapy (ACT), was inadequate in all countries surveyed in 2006. ... Supplies of insecticide-treated nets (ITN) ... were sufficient to protect an estimated 26% of people in 37 African countries. Surveys in 18 African countries found that 34% of households owned an ITN; ...
38% of children with fever were treated with antimalarial drugs, but only 3% with ACT." - World Malaria Report, 2008
The 2008 World Malaria Report, released this report, documents substantial advances in the war against malaria. As many as 7 African countries reduced malaria deaths by more than 50% between 2000 and 2006. But there were still almost 900,000 estimated deaths from malaria in 2006, 91% of them in Africa and 85% of children under five.
This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains a press release and excerpts from the summary and key points of the report. The full report and additional background material is available on the WHO website at http://www.who.int/malaria/wmr2008/
For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on health issues, visit http://www.africafocus.org/healthexp.php
This Bulletin also includes (immediately below) links to two new featured books in the AfricaFocus Bookshop, one about malaria and the other the best-selling The House on Sugar Beach, as well as to an additional selection of books on malaria. Use the links below to browse or order these books and more from Amazon, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada or other sources.
AfricaFocus Book Notes
The Making of a Tropical Disease: A Short History of Malaria (Johns Hopkins Biographies of Disease) by Randall M. Packard
Randall Packard's far-ranging narrative traces the natural and social forces that help malaria spread and make it deadly. He finds that war, land development, crumbling health systems, and globalization -- coupled with climate change and changes in the distribution and flow of water -- create conditions in which malaria's carrier mosquitoes thrive. The combination of these forces, Packard contends, makes the tropical regions today a perfect home for the disease.
Authoritative, fascinating, and eye-opening, this short history of malaria concludes with policy recommendations for improving control strategies and saving lives.
More on-line: http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?0801887127
See more books on malaria at
http://www.africafocus.org/books/themes.php#malaria or
http://www.africafocus.org/books/themes_uk.php#malaria
The House at Sugar Beach by Helene Cooper
A powerfully written personal narrative of Liberia, with historical insight and journalistic skill. Number 1 Africa best-seller on Amazon.
More on-line: http://www.africafocus.org/books/isbn.php?0743266242
Progress made in malaria control, yet burden is enormous
New report finds more funding leading to increased coverage of malaria control interventions
World Health Organization
Press release
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2008/pr32/en
18 September 2008 | Geneva -- The global burden of malaria remains enormous, but access to malaria control interventions, especially bednets in Africa, increased sharply between 2004 and 2006, says a new report released today.
"With dramatic increases in funding and intense momentum towards reducing the malaria burden in recent years, we have a greater need for reliable information and analysis," said WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan. "This report begins to answer that need. Progress in malaria control has accelerated dramatically since 2006, especially in the wake of the UN Secretary-General's call for universal malaria control coverage by the end of 2010. We expect these expanded efforts to be reflected in future reports."
The World malaria report 2008, which draws upon data collected between 2004 and 2006, paints a complex picture. Some highlights are:
New methods estimate that the number of malaria cases in 2006 was 247 million.
Small children remain by far the most likely to die of the disease.
Malaria deaths have declined in several countries, and a few African nations have managed to reduce deaths in half by following the recommended measures.
As of 2006, more funding resulted in accelerated access to malaria interventions, including bednets and effective medicines.
In Africa, the artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), which is recommended by WHO, reached only 3% of children in need.
Bednet coverage increasing
The report finds that recent increases in malaria funding were beginning to translate into coverage of key malaria interventions, especially bednets, by 2006. The percentage of children protected by insecticide-treated nets increased almost eightfold, from 3% in 2001 to 23% in the 18 African countries where surveys were held in 2006. Procurement of antimalarial medicines also increased sharply between 2001 and 2006. About 100 million people, including 22 million in Africa, were protected by indoor spraying of insecticide.
However, much more work remains to be done. In Africa, only 125 million people were protected by bednets in 2007, while 650 million are at risk.
"Malaria is a primary cause of child mortality," said Ann M.
Veneman, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). "If the availability of bednets and other key interventions can be increased, lives can be saved."
Positive impact
For the first time, three African countries reported dramatic reductions in malaria deaths by 50% or more. Eritrea, Rwanda and Sao Tome and Principe achieved this result between 2000 and 2006/2007 through a mix of bednet distribution, indoor spraying, improved access to treatment and advances in disease surveillance.
Furthermore, significant improvements were observed in other African countries such as Madagascar, Zambia and the United Republic of Tanzania.
Six more countries reported a fall in malaria deaths by 2006: Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Philippines, Suriname, Thailand and Viet Nam.
"We know that malaria control interventions work and that we can make rapid progress towards ending malaria deaths," said Ray Chambers, the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Malaria. "Now is the time to expand these results to all of Africa and the rest of the world."
According to data from national malaria control programmes, Africa had a larger increase in funding than any other region between 2004 and 2006. The investments were led by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and supported by bilateral and multilateral organizations and national governments.
In other regions, sources of funding were highly variable, but national governments provided the bulk of monies. While funding for malaria was higher than ever before in 2006, it is not yet possible to judge which countries have adequate resources and there are still significant gaps.
[Excerpts only, from summary and key points. Full report and other background material available at
http://www.who.int/malaria/wmr2008/]
Summary
There were an estimated 247 million malaria cases among 3.3 billion people at risk in 2006, causing nearly a million deaths, mostly of children under 5 years. 109 countries were endemic for malaria in 2008, 45 within the WHO African region.
The combination of tools and methods to combat malaria now includes long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN) and artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), supported by indoor residual spraying of insecticide (IRS) and intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPT). Despite big increases in the supply of mosquito nets, especially of LLIN in Africa, the number available in 2006 was still far below need in almost all countries. The procurement of antimalarial medicines through public health services also increased sharply, but access to treatment, especially of ACT, was inadequate in all countries surveyed in 2006.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
