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When a small number of cases of locally transmitted malaria were found in the United States last year, it was a reminder that climate change is reviving or increasing the risk of some diseases. But malaria never stopped spreading throughout the African continent, killing or sickening millions of people.
Take Funmilayo Kotun, a 66-year-old resident of Makoko, an informal neighborhood in the city of Lagos, Nigeria. Its dirty water ponds provide favorable breeding conditions for mosquitoes that spread malaria. Kotoon can’t afford insecticide-treated mosquito nets, which cost between $7 and $21, much less anti-malaria drugs or treatments.
Also read: Malaria: Why are the number of cases not decreasing?
For World Malaria Day on Thursday, here’s what you need to know about the situation in Africa:
Malaria is still widespread
The malaria parasite is mostly spread to people through infected mosquitoes and can cause symptoms including fever, headache and chills. It mostly affects children under 5 years of age and pregnant women. Vaccine efforts are still in their early stages: Cameroon this year became the first country to routinely administer a new malaria vaccine to children, which is only 30% effective and does not prevent transmission. A second vaccine was recently approved.
Cases of resistance to anti-malarial drugs and insecticides are increasing, while funding for innovation by governments and donors is slowing.
Living conditions play a role, with overcrowded areas, stagnant water, poor sanitation and lack of access to treatment and prevention materials being issues in many areas. And an invasive species of mosquito previously seen mostly in India and the Persian Gulf is a new concern.
a growing problem
Malaria cases are increasing globally. Infections are projected to increase from 233 million in 2019 to 249 million in 2022 across 85 countries. According to the World Health Organization, malaria deaths are projected to increase from 576,000 in 2019 to 608,000 in 2022.
Of the 12 countries that bear approximately 70% of the global burden of malaria, 11 are in Africa and the other is India. Of the 580,000 malaria deaths in Africa in 2022, 80% will be in children under 5 years of age.
Covid-19 harms progress
The fight against malaria saw some progress in areas such as rapid diagnostic testing, vaccines and new mosquito nets to combat insecticide resistance, but the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in focus and funding have slowed efforts. Pushed back.
A study published in Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases last year said COVID-19-induced lockdowns led to disruptions at 30% of rural community healthcare points across Africa. Malaria cases began to rise again, breaking the declining trend between 2000 and 2019.
According to WHO, the declining trend may reverse soon.
A warming world and new frontiers
Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, said Africa “is at the sharp end of climate change” and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events is ruining efforts to combat malaria in low- and middle-income areas. . Tuberculosis and malaria, warned in December.
In 2023, WHO’s World Malaria Report included for the first time a chapter on the link between malaria and climate change, highlighting its importance as a potential risk multiplier. Scientists worry that people living in areas that were once inaccessible to mosquitoes, including the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and the mountains of eastern Ethiopia, could become vulnerable.
In Zimbabwe, which has recorded some of its hottest days in decades, the duration of malaria transmission has increased in some districts, “and this change has been attributed to climate change,” said WHO’s technical officer for malaria in Zimbabwe. Dr. Precious Endifasi said.
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