In a ten-year period the number of annual malaria cases globally has fallen by 38%, and by 50% in 43 countries, of which 11 are in Africa, according to a report released by RBM (Roll Back Malaria). Experts say that the total eradication of malaria is really “in sight”. The authors of the report – “Roll Back Malaria Partnership: A Decade of Partnership and Results” – explained that over the last decade the drop in malaria incidence translates into a saving of over one million lives.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said:

“Only rarely have we seen a public health initiative provide so much return on investment. Thanks to the efforts of the Roll Back Malaria Partners over the past decade, we have a foundation that allows affected countries and communities to reach even greater results in the years to come.”

Over the last decade, RBM informs that about $5 billion have been mobilized, which helped improve interventions to treat and prevent malaria. The boost in the number of insecticide-treated nets has been impressive, officials say.

Today, almost four-fifths of the whole of sub-Saharan Africa’s at risk population have received insecticide-treated nets.

Dr Robert Newman, Director of WHO’s Global Malaria Program, said:

“The results of the past decade exceed what anyone could have predicted and prove that malaria control is working. Many of these achievements have occurred in the last five years, which tells us that we are becoming increasingly effective in our ability to tackle this disease.”

Three countries have eliminated malaria over the last ten years, the report states, while another 26 are well on their way to doing the same. By 2015, all nations in the WHO (World Health Organization) European Region should have eliminated malaria.

Malaria, a preventable and treatable disease, is a potential threat to half the world’s population. Nearly 800,000 people lost their lives because of malaria in 2009, most of them pregnant women and young children. The economic burden of malaria in Africa is estimated to be about $12 billion each year (includes lost productivity). Over 90% of all deaths caused by malaria occur in Africa.

MalariacycleBig

  • A mosquito takes a blood meal, infecting a human being.
  • Sporozoites enter the bloodstream and make their way to the liver.
  • Sporozoites infect hepatocytes (liver cells), where they multiply into merozoites, and rupture the liver cells. They then escape and return to the bloodstream.
  • Merozoites infect red blood cells and develop into trophozoites and schizonts, which produce more merozoites.
  • Gametocytes (sexual forms) are also produced. These can infect mosquitoes, and the life cycle starts all over again.

WHO states that the decline in the number of malaria cases over the last decade is mainly due to the number of new initiatives and agencies that have been created, including:

  • Global Fund to Fight AIDS
  • The African Leaders Malaria Alliance
  • The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, UNITAID
  • The Office of the UN Special Envoy for Malaria
  • The US President’s Malaria Initiative
  • The World Bank Malaria Booster Program
  • Tuberculosis and Malaria
  • ..and several others

The Roll Back Malaria Partnership includes over 500 partners from both the public and private sectors – the partnership was founded in 1998.

International funding for malaria control has risen from $100 million in 2003 to $1.5 billion in 2010 (annually). The UK, France and the USA have significantly raised their contributions.

Stephen O’Brien, the UK’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Development, said:

“It is great news that 1.1 million children’s lives have been saved from this killer disease over the past decade but we know that there is still much more to do. We must keep our foot on the pedal. Tackling malaria is vital to reducing child deaths. Over the next decade we need to see even stronger partnerships, cutting edge innovation and decisive leadership which will help us achieve the global target of zero deaths due to malaria by 2015.

We want to see the increased impact of new technology – such as diagnostics kits, bednets and effective anti-malarial drugs – by making sure they are available and used by those that need them most, when they need them. The important work of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership will be vital to achieving this.

The powerful partnership committed to standing up to malaria has dramatically increased access to relatively simple intervention and treatment options, which is translating directly into lives saved,” said Ray Chambers, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Malaria. “By confronting malaria all cause child mortality is also on the decline, and we must finish the job and reach the Secretary- General’s goal of ending malaria deaths by 2015.”

The following products, which did not exist a decade ago, have contributed enormously to the fall in the number of malaria cases today:

  • Fast and efficient diagnostic tests
  • Longer-lasting insecticide-treated nets
  • New medications

A new vaccine, as well as hundreds of other R&D products, are in the pipeline.

Executive Director of the RBM Partnership, Professor Awa Marie Coll-Seck, said:

“We are light years away from where we were ten years ago. And we have reached this position not only because of new tools, vastly improved policies, financing, and strategies but also because we have found new ways of working together. A key factor in our success has been effective partnership involving donor countries, the private sector, civil society and UN organizations, with African countries taking a key leadership role.”

Despite all these gains, the number of vulnerable people who still do not have proper access to vital treatment and prevention options is still too high, the authors stress.

The following options should be available for everyone:

  • Diagnostic testing
  • Effective medications, including those used to treat and prevent malaria in pregnant mothers
  • Indoor spraying with insecticides
  • Insecticide-treated nets

Even so, these gains and future advances could be threatened by mosquitoes that appear to be developing resistance to insecticides. A malaria parasite in the Mekong region of Asia has become resistant to a key component in the currently most effective anti-malarial drug – artemisinin.

Not knowing whether funding is secure is also a real threat to any future progress in the elimination of malaria. Ideally, not only will present funding need to be sustained, it should be increased, WHO stresses.

Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director, said:

“This report shows that leadership, partnership and funding for malaria control can save many, many children’s lives. but to sustain these gains, we must do more to protect, diagnose and treat those mothers and children who are the most vulnerable and most in need.”

Written by Christian Nordqvist