ECOWAS Program to Eradicate Malaria

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QUESTION
Why can I find no mention on your website of the ECOWAS program to eradicate malaria in their countries?

ANSWER
Thanks for bringing up ECOWAS. Since 2011, ECOWAS leaders have signaled a commitment to eradicating malaria in their region by 2015, and pilot programs are already underway in several countries, including Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Ghana. The program has centered on the use of larvicides for control of mosquito populations, thus reducing transmission. In April 2012, ECOWAS signed an agreement with Cuba in order to revitalize joint efforts to eradicate malaria in both West Africa as well as the Caribbean island. Soon after, Venezuela entered the agreement, pledging $20 million to the cause. These funds
will help support the construction of manufacturing facilities for biolarvicides in Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, among other things.

In August, the Commissioner of ECOWAS emphasized the need for community engagement in the fight against malaria. A road map for measuring future progress was also drawn up by health advisers from the region; the next high-level ministerial meeting to evaluate the program will take place in West Africa, and will likely include Cuban and Venezuealan partners, in December 2012.

WHO recommends that Larviciding is indicated only for vectors which tend to breed in permanent or semi-permanent water bodies that can be identified and treated, and where the density of the human population to be protected is sufficiently high to justify the treatment with relatively short cycles of all breeding places.

Malaria in Africa

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QUESTION

How many in Africa have been affected by Malaria?

ANSWER

In 2010, there were approximately 174 million cases of malaria in Africa. However, some people may present with more than one case of malaria per year (especially young children), so the number of people affected is likely considerably lower. However, 90% of deaths from malaria occur in Africa, and 60% in just six countries: Nigeria, DR Congo, Burkina Faso, Mozambique, Cote d’Ivoire and Mali. The good news is that malaria mortality has dropped by 33% in Africa since 2000, which is a very encouraging trend, though the aim of organizations such as Malaria No More is to fully eliminate deaths from malaria globally by 2015.

In What Countries is Malaria Found?

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QUESTION

What countries can malaria be found in?

ANSWER

Malaria is found on every continent of the world except Antartica—however, regular transmission every year mainly only occurs in Central and South America, Africa, parts of the Middle East, Asia and parts of Oceania/the Pacific Islands.

The world’s highest areas of malaria prevalence and transmission occur in sub-Saharan Africa, followed by India, south-east Asia (especially the Indo-Pacific islands, such as Papua New Guinea) and parts of Central America and northern South America.

Based on the latest available data, the top five countries reporting the most annual malaria deaths were Kenya, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso. However, the top five countries with the highest number of malaria cases per 100,000 members of the population were Guinea, Botswana, Burundi, Zambia and Malawi.

The Solomon Islands have the highest number of malaria cases per 100,000 outside of Africa, followed by Yemen. Note that these statistics are highly dependent on quality of diagnosis, treatment and reporting!