Counting Malaria Out: Can We Do It?
April 25 is World Malaria Day, commemorating the date in 2000 when 44 African leaders committed to cutting malaria deaths in half by 2010. Each year, malaria causes approximately 1 million deaths, most in young children in Africa. Recent increases in resources are beginning to result in successes in the fight against this scourge.
This year's World Malaria Day theme is "Counting Malaria Out." Is that possible?
In recent years, many partners, including The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, the World Bank, Roll Back Malaria, UNICEF, and the President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), have stepped up efforts and joined together to scale up the use of lifesaving malaria interventions, especially in Africa.
CDC contributes to malaria control largely through PMI, a U.S. government interagency initiative begun in 2005 to halve malaria deaths in 15 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (Angola, Benin, Ethiopia [Oromia region], Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia). PMI is led by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and is implemented jointly by USAID and CDC, in close collaboration with host ministries of health and other local and international partners in the public and private spheres.
The millions of life-saving interventions that PMI has provided–along with millions from national governments and other donors large and small–are translating into fewer malaria-related illness and deaths in a number of countries, notably Zambia, Rwanda, mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar, Malawi, and Mozambique.
In addition to its role in PMI, CDC conducts multidisciplinary research in the United States and internationally, in the laboratory and in the field, to better understand malaria and develop safe, effective interventions for its prevention and control.
How Can Malaria Be Prevented?
For people living in malaria-endemic areas, an integrated package of effective preventive interventions―insecticide-treated bed nets, intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women, and indoor residual spraying where appropriate, as well as prompt diagnosis and treatment of malaria illness with artemisinin-based combination therapy―can significantly reduce the impact of malaria.
People traveling to malaria-endemic areas should consult their health provider and receive a prescription for the right prophylaxis for their destination, as well as advice on how to prevent bites altogether.
Is Malaria a Problem in the United States?
Although malaria was eliminated from the United States in 1951, approximately 1,500 travelers from the United States return with malaria each year. On average, five of these travelers will die from this preventable infection.
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