Progress has stalled in the fight against malaria
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has partnered with organisations in promoting this year’s theme, Ready to Beat Malaria.
World Malaria Day is celebrated on April 25.
This theme underscores the collective energy and commitment of the global malaria community in uniting around the common goal of a world free of malaria.
It also highlights the remarkable progress achieved in tackling one of humanity’s oldest diseases, while also calling out worrying trends as captured in the 2017 World malaria report.
The global response to malaria is at a crossroads. After an unprecedented period of success in malaria control, progress has stalled.
The current pace is insufficient to achieve the 2020 milestones of the WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016 to 2030 – specifically, targets calling for a 40 per cent reduction in malaria case incidence and death rates.
Countries with ongoing transmission are increasingly falling into one of two categories: those moving towards elimination and those with a high burden of the disease that have reported significant increases in malaria cases.
Without urgent action, the major gains in the fight against malaria are under threat.
On this year’s World Malaria Day, WHO continues to call for greater investment and expanded coverage of proven tools that prevent, diagnose and treat malaria.
Also read a fact sheet on malaria: https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria
