Use new tools to save lives, World Health Organization says on World Malaria Day …
“We have the tools to drive down malaria, a package of interventions that includes vector control, preventive medicines, testing, and treatment,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), said.
Using the topic “Time to Deliver Zero Malaria: Invest, Innovate, Implement” as its theme for the day, WHO’s call to action includes preventing, diagnosing, and treating malaria, particularly among marginalized people.
Pilot programs for new vaccines
According to the most recent WHO World Malaria Report, published in December, 247 million new cases of malaria are expected in 2021.
As part of an ongoing WHO-coordinated trial program, nearly 1.5 million children in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi at high risk of illness and death from malaria have already received their first dosage of the first-ever malaria vaccine.
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According to the WHO, the African region would account for an estimated 95 percent of all cases and 96 percent of all deaths in 2021. Nearly 80% of malaria deaths in the region occurred among children under the age of five.
Already, it is saving lives.
Malaria vaccine pilots, which began in 2019, are enhancing equity in access to prevention tools for the most vulnerable. According to WHO, they are already saving lives.
The UN health agency predicts that if widely administered, the immunizations might save tens of thousands of deaths each year.
“These are joined by a safe and effective malaria vaccine, which could save the lives of tens of thousands of children every year,” said the head of the United Nations health agency.
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“Malaria elimination in many countries is within reach with sustained investment and increased efforts to reach those most at risk.”
Innovative instruments
Countries have made some progress in increasing access to malaria treatment for the majority of at-risk populations.
Despite significant improvements, many people at high risk of malaria continue to lack access to services that can prevent, identify, and treat the disease, which is most typically transmitted by mosquito bites.
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The COVID-19 epidemic, converging humanitarian crises, limited resources, insufficient monitoring systems, and reductions in the effectiveness of fundamental malaria-fighting technologies have all exacerbated the agency’s challenges in expanding access to malaria services, notably in Sub-Saharan Africa.
To address these threats and assist countries in developing more resilient malaria programs, WHO recently published a set of new tools, including a strategy to combat antimalarial drug resistance in Africa and a framework developed in collaboration with UN-Habitat to guide city leaders in urban malaria control.
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A six-month-old baby is tested for malaria after Cyclone Freddy wreaked havoc in Malawi.
Continued investment in the research and implementation of new vaccines and next-generation technologies, according to WHO, will be critical to meeting the 2030 global malaria targets.
If authorized, a second malaria vaccine could help overcome the large gap between supply and demand, reducing child illness and death from malaria, according to the FDA.
Meanwhile, 28 new items in the research and development pipeline include novel techniques such as insecticide-treated nets, targeted mosquito baits, and mosquito genetic engineering.