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World Malaria Day is April 25, 2017. This year’s theme for World Malaria Day is “End Malaria for Good.” The CDC was at the forefront of the original push for malaria elimination, which resulted in eliminating local malaria transmission in the United States, across much of Europe and the Caribbean, and in parts of the Middle East. Current malaria control initiatives led by endemic countries working in partnership with the World Health Organization(WHO); the Roll Back Malaria Partnership; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; and the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) have contributed to important reductions in malaria incidence and deaths over the last 15 years.
From 2000 to 2015, donors have collectively supported procuring and distributing more than one billion insecticide-treated bed nets and billions of artemisinin-based combination treatments (ACTs) globally. During this time the estimated number of malaria deaths worldwide has declined from 839,000 to 429,000, and the proportion of child deaths fell by 35%. This accomplishment is estimated to have saved up to 6.8 million lives, mostly among children under the age of five.
The World Health Organization states, “While these tools have played a pivotal role in reducing malaria cases and deaths, they are still not available to many who need them. An estimated 43% of people at of risk of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to an insecticide-treated nets or indoor residual spraying of insecticides.”
The map of where malaria is still a risk has also shrunk. Seventeen countries that historically were malaria endemic have reported zero local malaria cases. Seven of those countries (United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Kyrgyzstan) have been certified as malaria free by WHO.
Despite this tremendous set of achievements, approximately 3.2 billion people still remain at risk for malaria. Access to appropriate diagnostic testing and antimalarial drugs for children and pregnant women also remains poor in many parts of Africa, and concerns about insecticide and antimalarial drug resistance are even more pressing than ever.
Confronting Malaria in the United States
While local transmission of malaria was eliminated from the United States in the early 1950s, the CDC remains vigilant to monitor and help clinicians diagnose and treat cases of imported malaria each year. On average 1,500 cases of imported malaria are reported by U.S. physicians each year, and on average 5 of those cases are fatal. Rapidly responding to these imported cases is critical to saving lives and to preventing reintroduction of malaria transmission in the United States. The CDC also provides guidance for the prevention of malaria in international travelers to areas where malaria still poses a risk. Still, the best way to reduce the risk is to reduce or stop malaria transmission where it occurs.
Reducing the Global Burden and Risk of Malaria
In support of the collective goal to end malaria, CDC is committed to identifying and expanding the use of proven malaria control strategies worldwide, including the distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), rapid diagnostics tests (RDTs), indoor residual spraying (IRD), artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), and intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) through President’s Malaria Initiative Strategy (PMI).
In May 2015, the World Health Assembly approved WHO’s Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016–2030, a 15-year blueprint for all countries working to control and eliminate malaria. The strategy set ambitious targets for 2030, including reducing malaria case incidence and death rates by at least 90%, eliminating malaria in at least 35 countries, and preventing the reintroduction of malaria in all countries that are malaria free.
There is still much work to be done.
Resources
Malaria Information and Prophylaxis by Country
Malaria 101 for Health Care Provider
Harvard Medical School Patient Education Center – Malaria
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