The Guardian reveals decline in fight against Malaria in Africa

Shafaq News/ The Guardian Newspaper reported a significant decline in the fight against Malaria in at least 13 African countries, with some countries even stopping their efforts to combat the disease.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that this decline is due to a lack of funding, making life-saving malaria treatments inaccessible to many people and jeopardizing plans to eliminate the disease by 2030.

According to WHO data for the year 2021, Africa bears the largest burden of malaria cases globally, accounting for 96% of deaths resulting from the disease, with nearly 80% of these deaths occurring among children under five; despite this, interest in combating Malaria has waned in recent years.

Experts highlight to The Guardian that threats such as the climate crisis have exacerbated the problem, as rising temperatures and increased rainfall create ideal conditions for mosquitoes to breed. The frequency of extreme weather events like floods and hurricanes across the African continent in recent years has also increased the likelihood of contracting mosquito-borne diseases.

While vaccines like "RTS and S/AS01" are being gradually rolled out across Africa, experts emphasize that they are not a magic solution to end Malaria, and other measures to reduce the disease should not be slowed down.

Michael Adekunle-Charles, the permanent CEO of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, noted that treated bed nets have been highly effective in preventing Malaria. Still, their effectiveness could diminish over time due to increasing mosquito resistance.

Leaders of the African Group at the United Nations have warned of a malaria emergency, citing resistance to insecticides, declining drug effectiveness, inadequate funding, and the impacts of climate change. They have called for establishing national malaria control councils in countries and additional funding from the World Bank to combat Malaria.