PHA-Exch> New publication: WHO World Malaria Report 2008

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Vern Weitzel <vern.weitzel at gmail.com>
crossposted from: "[health-vn discussion group]" <health-vn at cairo.anu.edu.au
>

From: Maryvonne Grisetti, Switzerland <grisettim at who.int>

This is to draw your attention on the WHO World Malaria Report 2008
released on 18 September 2008. The global burden of malaria remains
enormous, but access to malaria control interventions, especially bednets
in Africa, increased sharply between 2004 and 2006. "With dramatic
increases in funding and intense momentum towards reducing the malaria
burden in recent years, we have a greater need for reliable information
and analysis," said WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan. "This report
begins to answer that need. Progress in malaria control has accelerated
dramatically since 2006, especially in the wake of the UN
Secretary-General's call for universal malaria control coverage by the end
of 2010. We expect these expanded efforts to be reflected in future
reports."

The World Malaria Report 2008, which draws upon data collected between
2004 and 2006, paints a complex picture. Some highlights are
- New methods estimate that the number of malaria cases in 2006 was 247
million.
- Small children remain by far the most likely to die of the disease.
- Malaria deaths have declined in several countries, and a few African
nations have managed to reduce deaths in half by following the recommended
measures.
- As of 2006, more funding resulted in accelerated access to malaria
interventions, including bednets and effective medicines.
- In Africa, the artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), which is
recommended by WHO, reached only 3% of children in need.

Bednet coverage increasing
The report finds that recent increases in malaria funding were beginning
to translate into coverage of key malaria interventions, especially
bednets, by 2006. The percentage of children protected by
insecticide-treated nets increased almost eightfold, from 3% in 2001 to
23% in the 18 African countries where surveys were held in 2006.

Procurement of antimalarial medicines also increased sharply between 2001
and 2006. About 100 million people, including 22 million in Africa, were
protected by indoor spraying of insecticide. However, much more work
remains to be done. In Africa, only 125 million people were protected by
bednets in 2007, while 650 million are at risk.

"Malaria is a primary cause of child mortality," said Ann M. Veneman,
Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). "If the
availability of bednets and other key interventions can be increased,
lives can be saved."

Positive impact
For the first time, three African countries reported dramatic reductions
in malaria deaths by 50% or more. Eritrea, Rwanda and Sao Tome and
Principe achieved this result between 2000 and 2006/2007 through a mix of
bednet distribution, indoor spraying, improved access to treatment and
advances in disease surveillance. Furthermore, significant improvements
were observed in other African countries such as Madagascar, Zambia and
the United Republic of Tanzania. Six more countries reported a fall in
malaria deaths by 2006: Cambodia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic,
the Philippines, Suriname, Thailand and Viet Nam. "We know that malaria
control interventions work and that we can make rapid progress towards
ending malaria deaths," said Ray Chambers, the United Nations
Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Malaria. "Now is the time to expand
these results to all of Africa and the rest of the world."

According to data from national malaria control programmes, Africa had a
larger increase in funding than any other region between 2004 and 2006.
The investments were led by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis
and Malaria, and supported by bilateral and multilateral organizations and
national governments.

In other regions, sources of funding were highly variable, but national
governments provided the bulk of monies. While funding for malaria was
higher than ever before in 2006, it is not yet possible to judge which
countries have adequate resources and there are still significant gaps.
This Report is freely accessible on the WHO web site at
http://www.who.int/malaria/wmr2008/  [PDF, 4.9Mb] and more information on
malaria is available at http://www.who.int/topics/malaria/en/index.html

Printed copies of the Report can be purchased online at
www.who.int/bookorders ; a special rate is granted to developing
countries.
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