Malaria solutions require both curative and preventive strategies. Prevention programs include a range of elements: improved sanitation, water drainage, public education and surveillance of cases in malarial areas, insecticide-treated and long-lasting bed nets, and controlling and reducing the mosquito vectors of malaria. Integrated vector management, rather than reliance on a single factor, is fundamental to success, as is the involvement of affected communities.
The World Health Organization reports that in 2004, some 3.2 billion people in 107 countries lived in areas at risk of malaria transmission. Forty-nine percent of the world's population lives in areas where malaria is transmitted. Each year, 300-500 million people are affected by malaria. In 2005, UNICEF estimated that the cost of effectively controlling the disease in the 82 countries with the highest burden was about $3.2 billion annually.
Roughly 80-90% of malaria cases occur in sub-Saharan Africa, and over 80% of malaria deaths - around 800,000 a year - occur among African children under age five.
The recent renewed attention to malaria control is a welcome and long overdue development. With significant resources and political commitment, the international community now has an opportunity to build on the many successful programs and experiences with malaria control over the years.
Case Studies
Malaria Control Articles & Studies
International Malaria Control Efforts
Sources:
- World Malaria Report 2005, World Health Organization
- Centers for Disease Control (CDC).Malaria Surveillance --- United States, 2005
- Guinovart C, Navia MM, Tanner M, et al. Malaria: burden of disease. Curr Mol Med 2006;
6:137--40. - UNICEF, World Malaria Report 2005 - Fact Sheet.
- The World Bank, World Development Indicators 2005.
- Malaria & Children: Progress in Intervention Coverage, UNICEF, RBM -2007.