World Malaria Day is an annual celebration observed on 25 April to raise awareness of global efforts to control and eventually eradicate malaria, a disease caused by a parasite transmitted through the bite of infected mosquitoes. The day was established by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2007 and is marked by various events and activities around the world, such as educational campaigns, community outreach and fundraising efforts to spread awareness. The theme for World Malaria Day 2023 is “Time to deliver zero malaria: Invest, innovate, implement”, with the aim of accelerating progress towards eliminating malaria deaths and cases.
Therefore, on the eve of World Malaria Day, WHO urges countries affected by the disease globally to accelerate access to high-impact tools and strategies to prevent, detect and treat malaria, including in the most vulnerable The focus is on reaching out to people. that no one should be left behind.
In the shadow of the COVID-19 crisis, the world is not on track to reach two critical goals of the WHO Global Technical Strategy (GTS) for Malaria 2016-2030: reduce global case incidence and mortality by 90 percent or more by 2030 Based on 2015 levels, said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director for South-East Asia of the World Health Organization (WHO).
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World Malaria Day 2023: Malaria deaths
In 2021, an estimated 619,000 people will die from malaria globally, compared to 625,000 in 2020, Singh said. There were an estimated 247 million new cases of malaria, compared to 245 million in 2020.
He noted that by the end of 2020, the South-East Asia region was the only WHO region to have achieved a 40 percent reduction in malaria cases and deaths compared to 2015, which was the first GTS milestone.
World Malaria Day 2023: Strategies to make the world malaria free
Amid the COVID-19 response, Maldives and Sri Lanka have maintained their malaria-free status and five countries in the region; Bhutan, DPR Korea, Nepal, Thailand and Timor-Leste are among those 25 countries and a region identified globally as having the potential to eliminate malaria by 2025.
In 2022, health ministers from across the region unanimously endorsed a statement on ‘Renewed Commitment to Malaria Elimination’, stressing the urgent need to scale up proven implementation strategies alongside the adoption of innovative strategies and tools.
The statement is in line with the region’s 2017 ministerial declaration to accelerate and sustain malaria elimination, as well as the 2018 ministerial call to eliminate malaria in the Greater Mekong subregion.
“Today, the region is at a crossroads. Since 2010, total funding for malaria prevention and control in the region has decreased by 36 percent, mostly due to lack of global support,” Singh said.
Decreased efficacy of artemisinin-based combination treatments, particularly in the Greater Mekong subregion, as well as increased vector resistance to pyrethroids, increasing the risk of morbidity, mortality and dissemination.
World Malaria Day 2023: WHO’s action plan
In many countries, cross-border transmission remains a major obstacle to achieving elimination goals. “Across the region, gaps in services remain: in 2021, there were an estimated 3,85,000 more cases in the region than in 2020,” Singh said.
“WHO is calling for action in several key areas,” she said. First, strengthen capacity at the sub-national level with a focus on identifying clear and actionable goals, increasing resource allocation and empowering local decision makers.
Second, shifting power to the periphery, especially in high-burden countries and neighboring countries on the brink of elimination, with a focus on increasing cross-border cooperation, she said.
Third, ensure adequate and sustained funding for malaria programmes, recognizing that funding changes must be anticipated, planned for and gradually implemented based on a time-bound strategy, WHO Regional Director Said.
Fourth, turning surveillance into a major malaria intervention ensures that last-mile barriers are identified and addressed.
Fifth, accelerating high-impact innovations, not only in diagnosis and treatment, but also in service delivery, is one of the eight ‘key priorities’ in the region, in line with the region’s primary health care approach to achieve universal health coverage by 2014. One, he said.
“Crucially, intensified efforts must be made to reach at-risk and vulnerable populations with currently available strategies and tools. Available malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment to achieve the Global Technological Strategy for Malaria 2016–2030 and Sustainable Malaria It is critical to reach these populations with . The development goal targets and delivers on the promise of zero malaria for everyone, everywhere,” Singh said.
(With inputs from PTI)