The increase in malaria cases across the African continent has drawn the serious concern of the World Health Organization. According to the WHO, malaria claimed 593 000 lives and caused 234 million cases in Africa in 2021.
It has blamed the situation on its discovery that a sizable portion of the continent’s population lacks access to healthcare facilities and must pay exorbitant prices to obtain care.
The worldwide organization addressed the issue in a statement to mark World Malaria Day in 2023. This year’s Malaria Day is centered around the idea of Time to Deliver Zero Malaria: Invest, Innovate, Implement.
While recognizing the accomplishments of our Member States and development partners over the past year, it says in part, “We are deeply concerned that malaria deaths continue to be intolerably high, and cases have continued to increase since 2015.”
“In 2021, the WHO African Region alone accounted for an estimated 234 million malaria cases and 593 000 deaths, bearing the heaviest burden of over 95% of cases and 96% of deaths globally,” the WHO said in a statement.
It continued, “Our region, therefore, continues to be most severely affected by this deadly disease, in part because too many people lack access to preventative and curative interventions.”
According to the WHO, the majority of people in most African nations cannot afford to access basic health services, and nearly 30% of the population cannot afford these costs.
In contrast, about 80% of malaria cases and deaths occur in children under five, it was noted that “significant inequities affect the most vulnerable, young children and women.”
WHO African countries need to rethink and regenerate their healthcare strategies by investing, innovating, and executing cleverly to guarantee simple and affordable healthcare for their larger populations in order to reverse these trends and speed up progress.
