WHO Malaria Report 2010: We're making progress

On 14 December 2010, the WHO published its official malaria report. The report sets out the international successes that have been booked in the fight against diseases that take their toll on poor and vulnerable population groups. 'The results set out in this report are the best seen in decades. Current strategies work, but we must remain cautious,' explains WHO Director-General Margaret Chan.

More people have access to malaria interventions
In 2008, the Secretary-General of the United Nations set the ‘universal coverage’ goal, which establishes that not only children under the age of 5 and pregnant women should be protected by insecticide-treated mosquito nets, but also older children, men and women. Based on the assumption that one mosquito net is needed for every two people, the worldwide need would be 350 million mosquito nets.
By the end of 2010, it is expected that 289 of the 350 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) will have been distributed. A major success that enables 75% of the 700 million people exposed to malaria to sleep protected.
By spraying the inside of dwellings with insecticide (Indoor Residual Spraying) at the same time the mosquito nets are handed out, 90% of the target group will be protected against malaria by the end of this year.
Access to Artemisinin Combination Therapy (ACTs) has also improved: Eleven African countries have successfully treated all cases of malaria with ACTs; in eight other African countries, the percentage is between 50 and 100%.

Fewer people infected with malaria and fewer malaria deaths
This immense increase in preventive measures and access to medicine has produced good results. Worldwide, the number of diagnosed cases of malaria has decreased by more than 50% to 223 million malaria cases.
In one year, the number of malaria deaths has decreased by 10%, from 863,000 recorded deaths in 2008 to 781,000 recorded deaths in 2009. In eleven African countries, the number of malaria deaths even decreased by more than 50% compared with the year 2000. Morocco and Turkmenistan have officially declared malaria as eradicated in their countries. In contrast, the number of malaria deaths in Rwanda, on the island of São Tomé and Principe, and in Zambia has risen.

There's still a lot to do
Given that there are still 223 million recorded cases of malaria and 781,000 recorded malaria deaths, it is important that the current strategy and support be continued. Especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, where 91% (781,000 people) of the deaths occur and 672,000 children under the age of 5 die (85%). Continued intervention is needed to prevent these deaths.
Caution is, however, still required, because of the resistance the parasite can develop to drugs and the mosquito to insecticide. For this reason, two measures must be taken: First, antimalarial drugs should not be prescribed until malaria has been confirmed by a diagnostic test rather than a clinical suspicion. Second, Artemisia-based monotherapies must be taken off the market and only Artemisia-based combination therapies prescribed.
These two measures have been part of Malaria No More! Netherlands's guidelines and selection criteria since the charity was founded.

Malaria No More! Netherlands will take the WHO's report to heart and will continue to support malaria, hopefully with your help.

The full report can be downloaded from the site of the WHO. The summary can be downloaded here.