Ebb of Malaria No Cause for Complacency

Malaria prevention and treatment are among the most cost-effective public health interventions. They provide a consistently high return on investment, beyond the direct benefits of better health. Thus, investing in malaria control and elimination amounts to an unparalleled investment in productivity, progress and people-centred development. There is a compelling case for making this investment. Beyond the financial returns, it will generate unprecedented socioeconomic growth, humanitarian and equity benefits.

This week the World Health Organisation (WHO) released the 2017 World Malaria Report. The report presents a comprehensive assessment of the global progress in the fight against malaria up until the end of 2016. This report comes a year after the launch of the WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030; Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership’s Action and Investment to defeat malaria 2016-2030; and the sustainable development goals’ Target 3.3 which focuses on ending AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other neglected tropical diseases.

The report estimated that malaria caused illness and productivity loss to 216 million people in 2016. It claimed the lives of 445,000 people as well, which means a child still dies from malaria every two minutes. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to carry the most considerable burden of malaria cases and deaths. These figures are unacceptably high and warrant urgent action.

The combination of new tools, increased investment and strengthened political commitment led to a 60pc decline in malaria deaths between 2000 and 2015 – one of the greatest global health success stories of our time.

The past decade’s success put the world on a path to end malaria for good. But today, our hard-earned victory is fragile and uneven, bringing the decline in deaths and cases to a halt and putting our tremendous progress at risk. While long-term trends show improvement, the 2017 World Malaria Report demonstrates that this progress has stalled at least over the past three years. Globally, the report shows that we are not on track to achieve the 2020 target of a 40pc reduction in the number of new malaria cases and deaths.

Today, we are at a crossroad. The opportunity to save millions of more lives is up to us – that’s the mark of success or failure. We need to renew global commitment to continue down the path of progress by doubling down the political commitment, urgently scaling up core malaria interventions to achieve universal coverage, and more importantly by engaging and empowering communities that are affected by malaria.

To get back on track to meet the 2020 milestones and achieve the 2030 malaria goals, the global community must combine forces to defeat malaria and recognise the importance of building inclusive partnerships at all levels. We need malaria-affected countries to do more to prioritise scaling up proven malaria interventions and ensure they are a core part of efforts to increase access to universal health care.

Because of the unprecedented progress made over the past 15 years, and availability of an effective treatment, there is a growing trend of complacency in the fight against malaria. As malaria disproportionately affects the poor, women and children, and communities in far-flung corners of countries, it is critical to reinvigorate all-inclusive malaria partnerships at all levels (global, regional, national, sub-national and local) to advocate for and successfully mobilise the full range of resources needed to achieve universal coverage.

It is commendable that external financing for malaria remained stable over the last few years. We need donor countries to sustain their investments in active global and bilateral efforts that are instrumental in saving millions of lives, helping to spur economic prosperity and bolstering health security. This is critical as the majority of malaria commodities are externally financed.

A sharp decline in donor financing has the potential to undercut progress and result in a resurgence of malaria. At the same time, we need to see a significant increase in domestic funding to fight the disease and broader health investments. It is worrisome that the per capita expenditure on malaria has declined almost in all sub-Saharan African countries.

New investments are needed to increase the effectiveness of current tools and hasten the development of new tools such as next-generation insecticides, drugs and vaccines to stay ahead of rising resistance. Furthermore, increased engagement by the private sector and new players will be critical to help energise the malaria fight, alongside the development of innovative financing approaches to produce new funding sources.

Over the course of the next year, the global malaria community through coordination and leadership of the RBM partnership to end malaria should come together to redouble our efforts to get back on track and ultimately end the disease. A grass root movement through participatory engagement of communities should be ignited in countries with the highest burden of malaria.

Frank discussion on sustainable financing and demonstrating successful cases of domestic investment in malaria have to be pursued. We have to seize advocacy moments such as the High-Level Event on Malaria at the Commonwealth Summit in London which will bring together leaders across governments, businesses, science and beyond to announce new commitments to the malaria fight.

A Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM Conference) in Dakar will bring together scientists and malaria experts from around the world to commit to advancing the next generation of research and innovation needed to accelerate progress against the disease.

The RBM Partnership to end malaria provides the platform for coordinated, harmonised, and amplified advocacy messaging targeted at endemic countries, donors, civil society, parliaments, media and other stakeholders.


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