Malaria grows at risk from COVID-19 pandemic: WHO | Asia

Treatment disruptions could lead to tens of thousands more deaths, according to the World Health Organization.

Funding shortfalls and treatment interruptions in sub-Saharan Africa due to COVID-19 pandemic risk losing tens of thousands more lives to malaria, World Health Organization (WHO) warned in its report annual report on mosquito-borne disease on Monday.

The UN health agency has expressed concern that even moderate disruption in access to treatment could result in “considerable loss of life.”

A 10% cut in access to effective antimalarial treatment in sub-Saharan Africa could lead to an additional 19,000 deaths, according to the report. This number increased to 46,000 with a 25% access disruption and 100,000 with a 50% disruption.

“Progress has stalled,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “COVID-19 threatens to further derail our efforts to defeat malaria, especially the treatment of people with the disease. Despite the devastating impact of COVID-19 on African economies, international partners and countries must do more to ensure resources are there to scale up the malaria programs that are making such a difference in the lives of people. people.

The latest WHO global report on malaria, which is preventable and treatable and primarily affects countries in Africa, shows that progress against the disease had already slowed when the COVID-19 pandemic emerged earlier this year.

WHO says mosquito net distribution and other measures to prevent people from contracting malaria continued even with COVID-19, but pandemic has made it harder for people to access treatment [File: Yanick Folly/AFP]

In 2019, there were 229 million cases of malaria worldwide, an annual figure that has remained virtually unchanged over the past four years. Some 409,000 people died from the disease in 2019 compared to 411,000 in 2018.

The United Nations health agency says funding is part of the problem.

In 2000, African leaders signed the historic Abuja declaration pledging to reduce the number of malaria deaths on the continent by 50 percent over a 10-year period.

The political commitment has been accompanied by a sharp increase in national and international funding which has helped to reduce the number of malaria deaths on the continent by 44%.

Lack of funding

But funding shortages led to gaps in access to malaria control measures, the WHO said, and the deficit in 2019 was $ 3 billion against a target of $ 5.6 billion.

“Better targeting of interventions, new tools and increased funding are needed to change the global trajectory of the disease and achieve internationally agreed goals,” said WHO.

COVID-19 has emerged as an additional challenge because while most malaria prevention campaigns, such as treated mosquito nets, continue without delay, the pandemic makes it more difficult for people with malaria to access the treatment they need. need.

According to the health agency’s projections, the 2020 global goal of reducing the incidence of malaria cases will be missed by 37 percent and the goal of reducing mortality by 22 percent.

WHO warns world to miss targets on malaria incidence and deaths in 2020 [File:  AFP]

In addition to urging for increased spending, the WHO notes that its “heavy burden with high impact” (HBHI) response, which began in 2018, could help jump-start progress.

The 11 countries following the strategy, including 10 in Africa, have adapted their responses to the disease based on local data and intelligence.

Although the review is still in its early stages, the report found that the number of deaths in the 11 countries participating in the program increased from 263,000 to 226,000 between 2018 and 2019. India reported reductions in cases and deaths of 18% and 20% respectively, over the last two years.

The report shows that 21 countries have eliminated malaria in the past 20 years; among them, 10 countries have been officially certified malaria free by the WHO.