ABOUT MALARIA
OVERVIEW
Half of the world is at risk for malaria, a preventable and treatable disease that kills more than 600,000 people annually.
Malaria is a life-threatening disease that is preventable and treatable.
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Malaria is only spread by the bite of an infected mosquito. Therefore, preventing and eliminating the disease is possible.
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*Photo credit for the infected cell image goes to Dr. Mae Melvin, USCDCP (link)
Global Progress
1.7 Billion
Malaria cases averted between 2000 & 2020
(x)
10.6 Million
Lives saved from Malaria between 2000 & 2020
(x)
194 Million
Insecticide-treated mosquito nets supplied to Sub-Saharan Africa
in 2020
(x - 66)
MALARIA STATISTICS
Global Malaria
241 Million
new malaria infections in 2020
(x)
627,000
deaths from Malaria in 2020
(x)
77%
of total malaria deaths among children under 5
(x)
Malaria in Africa & Sub-Saharan Africa
95%
of global malaria cases that occurred in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2020
(x)
80%
of malaria deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa that occurred in children
(x)
The Global Fight Against Malaria
There is progress against malaria: people at risk of malaria are half as likely to die as they were in 2000.
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Since 1962, 40 countries and territories that previously had malaria -- including the United States and other countries in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia -- have become malaria free. It can be done! The countries most recently certified as malaria-free in 2021 are El Salvador and China.
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Despite this progress, malaria kills a person every minute, on average. 627,000 people died in 2020, of whom 96% were in Africa. 80% of those deaths were in children under the age of five.
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Global progress towards malaria elimination remains uneven, and progress has recently plateaued in several countries and has even reversed in some high-burden countries. New challenges to malaria elimination include threats of insecticide and drug resistance, and climate change.
COMMON MALARIA ELIMINATION TOOLS
Prevention Tools
Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLINs)
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Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS)
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Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria for Pregnant Women (IPTp)
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Malaria Vaccine (RTS,S)
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Mass drug administration (MDA)
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Diagnosis and Treatment
Rapid diagnostic testing
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Malaria treatment with ACTs (Artemisinin-based combination therapies)
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Easy access to diagnostic and treatment services
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Surveillance with Active case detection and treatment of malaria
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*Other malaria prevention tools and options are available. To learn more visit the World Health Organization’s website.
OUR WORK
The Isdell:Flowers Cross Border Malaria Initiative
The Isdell:Flowers Cross Border Malaria Initiative is committed to malaria elimination through community mobilization along the shared borders of Angola, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
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We believe that malaria can be eliminated only if those most affected have the knowledge, skills, and resources to prevent and treat the disease and to advocate for its elimination.
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To learn more about the Isdell:Flowers Cross Border Malaria Initiative, and its malaria elimination efforts, click here:
ADDITIONAL MALARIA RESOURCES
Learn more about malaria and efforts to eliminate it
Click the links below to learn more about malaria from a varied group of malaria experts and implementers.
Sources
Global Malaria Stats & Sources:
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WHO. World Malaria Report 2021. Available at: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240040496. Accessed Dec 10, 2021.
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African Malaria Stats & Sources:
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5. Good -> "Global Malaria mortality fell 60% over the period 2000 to 2019. The African Region [WHO region] achieved impressive reductions in its annual malaria death toll from 680,000 in 2019 to 366,000 in 2020" [iv, WHO]
6. Good -> "Manufacturer's delivery data for 2004-2019 show that nearly 2.2 billion insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) were supplied globally in that period, of which 1.9 billion (86%) were supplied to sub-Saharan Africa." [xviii, WHO]
7. Bad -> "The World Health Organization (WHO) African Region, with an estimated 215 million cases in 2019, accounted for about 94% of cases." [xiv, WHO]​
8. Bad -> Children under 5 years of age are the most vulnerable group affected by malaria; in 2019, they accounted for about two thirds of all malaria deaths worldwide." (https://www.who.int/health-topics/malaria#tab=tab_1)
African Continent Icon
<a href="https://www.vecteezy.com/free-vector/africa">Africa Vectors by Vecteezy</a>
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Nets, IRS, & SMC
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"Globally, the percentage of the population at risk protected by indoor residual spraying (IRS) in malaria endemic countries declined from 5% in 2010 to 2% in 2019." [xix, WHO]
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"The number of children reached with at least one dose of seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) steadily increased, from about 0.2 million in 2012 to 21.5 million in 2019." [xix, WHO]
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"Manufacturer's delivery data for 2004-2019 show that nearly 2.2 billion insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) were supplied globally in that period, of which 1.9 billion (86%) were supplied to sub-Saharan Africa." [xviii, WHO]
Slowing Progress
The 2020 WHO report, one of the few thorough Malaria reports that gains have levelled off and many of their global malaria targets would be missed. [vii, WHO]
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"Between 2000 and 2015, global malaria case incidence declined by 27%, and between 2015 and 2019 it declined by less than 2%, indicating a slow rate of decline since 2015." [xiv, WHO]
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COVID-19 added to the slowing global progress and most likely took the malaria fight a few steps back, however data is not available at this time so this is speculative.
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