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Global malaria cases, deaths declined since 2000
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Worldwide cases of malaria and malaria-related deaths have greatly declined since 2000, according to data recently published in the World Malaria Report 2014.
“We can win the fight against malaria,” Margaret Chan, MD, director-general of WHO, said in the press release. “We have the right tools and our defenses are working. But we still need to get those tools to a lot more people if we are to make these gains sustainable.”
Margaret Chan
According to the report, 198 million cases of malaria were estimated worldwide in 2013. There were 584,000 estimated deaths, including 453,000 children aged younger than 5 years.
Despite this, the malaria mortality rate decreased 47% from 2000 to 2013, according to the report. A 54% decline in mortality was seen during this period within the WHO African Region, where roughly 90% of malaria mortality occurs, while the number of infected people declined from 173 million to 128 million.
Prevention measures also have increased in recent years. Whereas 3% of people at risk for malaria in sub-Saharan Africa had insecticide-treated bed nets in 2004, nearly 50% of the same population did in 2013.
Rapid diagnostic tests procured globally increased from 46 million in 2008 to 319 million in 2013, with the 11 million courses of artemisinin-based combination therapies procured in 2005 similarly increased to 392 million courses in 2013.
Difficulties in malaria prevention still remain despite these gains, the release said. Insecticide resistance has been reported in 49 countries, while preventive therapies for pregnant women and children aged younger than 5 years have been slow to grow.
“There are biological and technical challenges, but we are working with partners to be proactive in developing the right responses to these,” Pedro L. Alonso, MD, PhD, director of WHO’s global malaria program, said in the release. “There is a strong pipeline of innovative new products that will soon transform malaria control and elimination. We can go a lot further.”