Malaria
Malaria is a parasitic disease transmitted by mosquitoes. Typically, malaria produces fever, headache, vomiting and other flu-like symptoms. If drugs are not available for treatment or the parasites are resistant to them, the infection can progress rapidly to become life threatening. Today malaria is found throughout the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world and causes more than 300 million acute illnesses and at least one million deaths annually.
- About 100 countries in the world have malaria, almost half of which are in sub-Saharan Africa. More than 2.4 billion people are at risk.
- Ninety per cent of deaths due to malaria occur in sub-Saharan Africa, mostly among young children. Malaria kills an African child every 30 seconds.
- In Africa, at least 24 million pregnancies are threatened by malaria each year. Pregnant women are more susceptible to malaria infection than non-pregnant women. Malaria causes low birth weight, meaning babies have a much higher risk of dying.
- Malaria causes an immense burden on health systems, being responsible for about 30 per cent of all outpatient visits and 20 to 50 per cent of all hospital admissions in countries with malaria in Africa.
- The needs for malaria control have been estimated to be about US$3 billion.
Malaria and poverty
In Africa today, malaria is understood to be both a disease of poverty and a cause of poverty. Poor people are at increased risk of becoming infected with malaria, and malaria is a major contributing cause of poverty in endemic areas - it makes poor people poorer. Malaria is also a major constraint to a country's economic development.
Not only does malaria result in lost life and lost productivity due to illness and premature death, but malaria also hampers children's schooling and social development. They lose out by having time off school and many children who survive an episode of severe malaria may suffer from learning impairments, brain damage or physical disability.
If it is adequately and promptly treated, malaria is a curable disease. However the parasite develops resistance to antimalarial drugs rapidly. In many parts of the world, it has become resistant to chloroquine, the most commonly used and most affordable antimalarial drug. Antimalarial drugs can be very expensive, so even if they are available, poorer people often cannot afford them. They may also be unable to afford to seek medical help when they get ill. If a person waits too long before they are treated, the disease can progress to become much more serious and eventually will cause the patient's death.
What is being done?
Growing political commitment by African leaders for action on malaria was given a boost by the founding of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) global partnership in 1998. Then in 2000 African Heads of State and their representatives met in Abuja, Nigeria to translate RBM's goal of halving the malaria burden by 2010 into tangible political action. The Abuja Declaration, signed in April 2000 endorsed a concerted strategy to tackle the problem of malaria across Africa.
These are the important steps that need to be taken to combat malaria. They are effective, relatively low-cost strategies. If countries can apply these measures on a wide scale the burden of malaria will be significantly reduced.
Prevention , through protection against mosquito bites (using nets), with a special focus on young children and pregnant women.
Prompt treatment with effective antimalarial medicines such as artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs).
Preventive antimalarial treatment for pregnant women living in areas of high malaria transmission.
Pre-empting epidemics by predicting outbreaks and acting swiftly to stop them.
Case study - Mosquito nets in Senegal
Nets are one of the most cost effective ways of preventing malaria because they are cheap, safe, easy to use and if used properly can last a long time. Although they are relatively cheap, they may still be too expensive for the poorest people. This is why some governments are subsidising the cost to ensure more people can afford them, or giving out free nets to vulnerable people.
The Podor district of Senegal, a remote region in the north-central area of the country, has one of the most severe malaria problems in the country. In the hot, dusty village of Diaba in Podor, malaria is an ever-present problem, especially during the rainy season. The Sow family are volunteers who work with the Senegalese Government. They help to promote malaria control throughout this remote region, and come to Diaba to hand out insecticide-treated mosquito nets for families, in particular for use by pregnant women and young children.
Over the past three years, Oumoul Khary Sow and her family have also devoted themselves to educating the villagers about preventing and treating malaria. "When we started out, people here were resigned to having malaria - to dying from malaria," she says. "They thought it was something they just had to accept. Now they know how to fight it - by sleeping under insecticide-treated nets and seeking medical care at the dispensary when they have a fever."
For more information see http://www.who.int/features/2005/malaria/en/