Disease Control Technologies is committed to globally helping people. By providing effective and innovative products that fight vector-borne diseases such as malaria, we help save lives. 

Raising awareness of malaria as a preventable and treatable disease is critical.  World Malaria Day was established and approved at the 60th World Health Assembly (WHA) in March 2007. It replaced Africa Malaria Day which was commemorated every year since 2001 on 25 April. On World Malaria Day advocates and citizens around the world raise awareness of malaria as a disease that is preventable and treatable and mobilize action to end the ravages of malaria.

The following are key facts provided by www.worldmalariaday.org.  Won't you help spread the word?

Cases, 2013

  •  Globally: 198 million

Deaths, 2013

  • Globally: 584 000
  • 90% of all malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa
  • and 78% occur in children under five

Population at risk

  • 3.2 billion (half of the world population), of whom 1.2 billion are at high risk

Affected countries

  • In 2014, 97 countries had on-going malaria transmission.
  • 80% of estimated malaria deaths occur in 18 most affected countries.
  • About 40% of malaria deaths occur in just two countries: Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Progress

  • The malaria mortality rate was reduced in 2000 – 2013
  • Globally: by 47%
  • in WHO African Region: by 54 %
  • 55 countries are on track to reduce their malaria case incidence rates by 75%, in line with World Health Assembly and Roll Back Malaria targets for 2015.
  • These 55 countries only account for 4% (8 million) of the total estimated malaria cases.
  • 64 countries are on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal target of reversing the incidence of malaria (between 2000 and 2015).

Impact

  • Between 2001 and 2013, an estimated 4.2 million lives were saved as a result of a scale-up of malaria interventions.
  • 97%, or 4.1 million, of these lives saved are in the under-five age group, in sub-Saharan Africa.

Required health expenditure

  • US$ 5.1 billion is needed every year
  • In 2013, the global total of international and domestic funding for malaria was US$ 2.6 billion – less than half of what is needed.

Economic cost

  • Direct: USD 12 billion per year in direct losses,
  • lost 1.3% of GDP growth per year for Africa

Comment