Drive to eliminate Malaria on World Malaria Day

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Monday that six African countries most affected by malaria could eradicate the disease by the year 2020.

Algeria, Cape Verde, Swaziland, Botswana, South Africa and the Comoros Islands have put in place a plan to fight against the disease which led to more than 400, 000 deaths in 2015 and 90% of these deaths were recorded in Africa in which 75% were children.

6 countries in Africa, where the burden of #malaria is heaviest, are in a position to eliminate local transmission by 2020
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— WHO (@WHO) April 25, 2016

The world over there was a sharp decline in deaths caused by the disease.

“Since the year 2000, deaths caused by malaria globally have decreased by 47% amongst all age groups and 53% among children less than 5 years. According to the WHO, mortality rates in Africa dropped by 58 per cent amongst children less than 5 years. This has helped to avoid nearly 6 million deaths caused by malaria,” said Dr. Jean Mermoz Younduka.

Eradicating malaria remains a difficult battle in light of the complex nature of the disease in some countries.

“There are the factors linked to the vector, today a lot of mosquitoes have become insensitive to the insecticides used for the treatment of mosquito nets,” he added.

In 2015, the European Medicines Agency gave a positive scientific approval on the world’s first malaria vaccine called Mosquirix developed by global pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline and its marketing is set to begin in 2017.