Urgency in malaria fight, lives hang in the balance

The fight to eliminate malaria is a long and arduous one, but one in which those bravely combating it believe they will finally win.

However, the stories we run in today’s newspaper – just one day after World Malaria Day – paint a concerning picture: one child in Africa dies every minute from malaria.

The latest figures released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) saw 249 million recorded malaria cases and 608 000 deaths in 2022. In South Africa last year, 9 795 cases and 106 deaths were reported.

Prevention is better than the cure, so if people took the necessary precautions when visiting malaria areas, it would greatly reduce the number of cases.

In those areas people should medicate when advised to by their doctors, wear long-sleeved shirts and pants, apply repellent and sleep under an insecticide-treated net.

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There’s been many breakthroughs to help in the fight against the disease. One such success story has seen the New Nets Project – funded by Unitaid and the Global Fund – deliver 56 million dual-insecticide nets across a number of malaria-endemic countries between 2019 and 2022.

These nets are coated in pyrrole insecticide and have delivered results after two clinical trials and five pilot studies. According to these groups the new nets improved malaria control by 20% to 50% in countries reporting insecticide resistance in sub-Saharan Africa, compared to standard nets.

It also brought in huge financial savings to health systems in those regions as it eased the strain on local hospitals and clinics.

Their project’s backers claim the net will avert an estimated 13 million malaria cases and nearly 25 000 deaths over three years.

WHO’s message yesterday was “accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable world”. We must hasten research and aid in the fight against malaria. Many lives depend on it.

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