WHO issues wake-up call, says no progress in fight against malaria

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday said the progress in the global fight against malaria has stalled amid signs of flat-lining funding and complacency.

WHO said in its annual world malaria report that malaria-infected about 216 million people in 91 countries in 2016, an increase of five million cases over the previous year.

The UN organisation said malaria killed 445,000 people, about the same number as in 2015.

The vast majority of deaths were in children under the age of five in the poorest parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

Pedro Alonso, director of WHO’s global malaria programme, said partly due to funding, and partly due to governments shifting focus away from malaria, the progress seen in the past decade is no longer being sustained.

“We want (this to be) a wake-up call to the malaria community,” Alonso said.

“We are not on track, and we need to get back on track.”

WHO said that overall funding for malaria has levelled off since 2010.

In 2016, an estimated 2.7 billion dollars was invested in malaria control and elimination efforts globally.

In 2015, funding totalled 2.9 billion dollars – almost the same as in 2010.

The WHO report found that when analysed on a country-by-country per capita basis, funding in countries where there is a high threat of malaria has fallen to an average of less than two dollars per year per person at risk.

“Globally … after an unprecedented period of success, we are no longer making progress. “I am concerned that we have become complacent,” said Abdisalan Noor, lead author of the report.

Noor said apart from stagnating funding, the report found “equally concerning” gaps in access to and use of vital malaria prevention, diagnostic and treatment tools such as bed nets, indoor spraying and primary health care.

Fewer than half of households in countries in sub-Saharan Africa are said to have enough bed nets to protect against mosquito bites, and only about a third of children in Africa with a fever have access to free public health sector medical care.

“The fact that funding … has plateaued, that the number of malaria cases in 2016 is similar to the number in 2012, and that there remain huge gaps in coverage of key malaria control tools, all make clear that unless we increase our efforts, we are not going to see any further progress,” Noor said.