[AHD] Fighting Malaria in DRC and Nigeria

 

 

According to the World Health Organization, latest estimates reveal there were about 219 million cases of malaria in 2010 (with an uncertainty range of 154 million to 289 million) and an estimated 660 000 deaths (with an uncertainty range of 490 000 to 836 000). Malaria mortality rates have fallen by more than 25% globally since 2000 and by 33% in the WHO African Region. Most deaths occur among children living in Africa where a child dies every minute from malaria. Country-level burden estimates available for 2010 show that an estimated 80% of malaria deaths occur in just 14 countries and about 80% of cases occur in 17 countries. Together, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria account for over 40% of the estimated total of malaria deaths globally. 

 

It is unacceptable that a child dies every minute from malaria in Africa. What steps are being taken in DRC and Nigeria to reduce this mortality burden? How can we stop the preventable deaths attributed to malaria in African children?