Resource information
Malaria kills over one million people
and causes 300-500 million episodes of illness each year.
The majority of the 3,000 deaths each day and ten new cases
every second occur in Africa. The disease not only takes a
high human toll; it also impedes development. Malaria has
economic impacts through labor efficiency and land use;
adversely affects school attendance, performance and
cognitive ability; and translates in monetary costs in terms
of expenditures by households and the public health sector.
The poor are affected most, as they have less access to
services, information and protective measures (e.g. nets,
screens, prophylaxis), and have less power to avoid living
or working within malaria-affected areas. Malaria is on the
rise. While efforts to control malaria in the past fifty
years have achieved a decline in malaria mortality and
morbidity in some regions, the gains have often not been
sustained (e.g. Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Central Asia).
Emerging drug and pesticide resistances threaten to reduce
the availability of effective and affordable prevention and
treatment of malaria. Recent epidemics indicate a resurgence
of the disease in previously low-risk areas (e.g. the
highlands of Kenya), and climate changes are expected to
lead to further changes in intensity of transmission. While
there is no magic bullet for malaria, a range of
cost-effective interventions exists, namely antimalarials
for treatment, prophylaxis, insecticide treated materials
and residual spraying with insecticide. New tools are
available and are continually being developed, such as
treatment for severe malaria, rapid diagnostic tests, and
combination drug therapy to prevent resistance. As access to
prevention, diagnosis and treatment are essential to
reducing the burden; malaria can only be effectively
controlled within the context of broader health sector
development. The main strategies for addressing malaria are
timely care-seeking, diagnosis and effective treatment, the
use of prophylaxis during pregnancy, and the use of
insecticide-treated bednets and materials.
