WHO warns that 50% of the world’s population is at risk of getting Malaria

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In 2015, 214 million new cases were registered and over 400,000 deaths.
The organization estimates that 21 countries are now able to eradicate the disease, 6 of which are African.
WHO warns of the resistance to insecticides and antimalarial drugs taking place.

In a report published on the occasion of the World Malaria Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that nearly half of the population is at risk of this disease that in 2015 produced 214 million new cases and caused over 400,000 deaths.

This happens despite the fact that last year all the countries of the WHO European Region reported zero indigenous cases of malaria, as occurred in 2014 in several other countries such as Argentina, Costa Rica, Iraq, Morocco, Oman, Paraguay, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates.

Moreover, the agency estimates that 21 countries are now capable of eradicating the disease, 6 of which are in Africa, continent with the highest malaria burden. Likewise, since year 2000, the death rates due to malaria have declined by 60% worldwide, while the decline in African countries was of 66% among all age groups and 71% among children under five.

“Our report sheds light on countries that are on the right track to eradicate this disease. However, while we commend these states, we also believe it is urgent to increase investment to curb the high rates of malaria transmission, especially in the African region,” argued Pedro Alonso, director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme.

Increase funding

Thus, the organization has urged the various governments to strengthen the monitoring of cases in order to identify coverage gaps, and said that eradicating the disease will require between 2.2 million euros (2.5 million dollars) and 7.7 billion euros (8.7 billion dollars) by 2030.

“Through solid funding and political will, the affected countries can speed up the progress towards the eradication of malaria and contribute to a broader development agenda, as set forth in the ‘Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030’,” emphasized WHO. Finally, the agency pointed out that past achievements have been possible due to increased mosquito nets, indoor spraying, rapid diagnostic tests and artemisinin-based combination therapies.

“However, the effectiveness of the tools that succeeded in fighting malaria earlier this century is currently under threat due to the developing resistance to the insecticides used in mosquito nets and the antimalarial drugs. Thus, new advances against this disease will require new tools and further refinancing for new technologies,” WHO added.

For the first time, the European Medicines Agency issued last year a positive scientific opinion of a vaccine against malaria, and in January 2016, WHO recommended large-scale pilot projects of the vaccine to be implemented in several African countries, which could pave the way for wider deployment in the coming years.
Read more: http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/2730339/0/oms/riesgo/malaria/#xtor=AD-15&xts=467263#xtor=AD-15&xts=467263