The World Health Organization (WHO) has released the malaria report for 2021, revealing that Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) accounted for the majority of global deaths from the disease.
While Nigeria accounted for 31% of global fatalities, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) accounted for 13%, with Niger Republic (4%), and the United Republic of Tanzania (4%).
According to the report obtained on Friday, the four countries will account for slightly more than half of all malaria deaths worldwide in 2021.
Despite the ongoing impact of COVID-19, the organization reported that malaria cases and deaths were stable last year.
With 247 million malaria cases and 619,000 deaths worldwide in 2021, the figures show a two million case increase and a six million death decrease since the pandemic began in 2019.
“Twenty-nine countries accounted for 96% of malaria cases globally, and four countries – Nigeria (27%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (12%), Uganda (5%) and Mozambique (4%) – accounted for almost half of all cases globally,” the report read in part.
“About 96% of malaria deaths globally were in 29 countries. Four countries accounted for just over half of all malaria deaths globally in 2021: Nigeria (31%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (13%), the Niger (4%), and the United Republic of Tanzania (4%).”
The health organization also revealed that countries around the world largely avoided further disruptions to malaria prevention, testing, and treatment services in 2021, as opposed to 2020, when the COVID pandemic disrupted malaria services, resulting in a significant increase in cases and deaths.
“In 2021, countries distributed 223 million Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDT), a similar level reported prior to the pandemic,” the agency added.
“In 2021, Insecticide-Treated Nets (ITN) distributions were strong overall and at similar levels to pre-pandemic years: 171 million ITNs planned for distribution, 128 million (75%) were distributed.”
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