A song urging Cameroonians not to relent in the fight against malaria blasted through speakers Saturday — World Malaria Day — at road junctions and popular neighborhoods, as well as from publicity vans driving through Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde. Dr. Daniel Etoundi of Cameroon’s public health ministry said health teams were being taken to every neighborhood …
Fighting malaria in times of global crises
With COVID-19 spreading across the globe, straining national health systems and challenging families, communities and countries, there has never been a more important time to uphold our commitment to end malaria, says Dr Abdourahmane Diallo, CEO, RBM Partnership to End Malaria and former Minister of Health, Guinea. Since the early 2000s, we have made tremendous …
We can’t pause the fight against Malaria
To defeat malaria, we need to invest in strong, integrated healthcare systems at the heart of nations with the greatest burden. While the World Health Organization urges countries to continue their core malaria prevention, testing and treatment activities in the midst of COVID-19, there have been reports of initiatives being suspended in some countries. But …
The fight against malaria must continue amidst the COVID-19 pandemic
The scale down of malaria control activities due to the COVID-19 outbreak risks to derail the gains achieved and might set us back to similar levels of malaria death as 20 years ago, a recent modelling by WHO and partners warns. Building a strong partnership for malaria control World Malaria Day serves as an opportune …
Q&A with Anyika Onuora, Olympic Medalist and British sprint, track and field athlete
Anyika Onuora contracted malaria while visiting family in Lagos, Nigeria. On her return, with no symptoms, she set off on holiday to the Dominican Republic. Partway through her holiday, she begun to feel unwell and ended the trip early, heading back to her training camp in Loughborough. Two days later she was admitted to hospital, …
The malaria season is coming – we must continue to protect children at risk
As anxiety around the COVID-19 pandemic is felt around the globe, the voices of those at risk of malaria ring in parallel—voices which often go unheard. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria takes a child’s life every two minutes. The vast majority of incidence and mortality occur in sub-Saharan Africa, where health systems …
Going digital with malaria net distribution
We are on the right track to end malaria. We’ve developed tools that can rapidly identify people infected with the disease, effective medicines to cure those who are sick, and preventive approaches to stop infections before they occur. The interventions we use to prevent malaria – including long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets – are among the …
A new global movement to accelerate the road to malaria elimination
Firm in the belief that empowered community and civil society are game-changers in health responses, we (representatives of national, regional and global malaria communities and civil society attending the First Malaria World Congress) have come together and formed the Global Civil Society for Malaria Elimination (CS4ME). Our commitment is for joint advocacy for more effective, …
Don’t forget malaria during COVID-19
he response to COVID-19 is – and must be – all encompassing. The worry is that efforts to protect against malaria may go off the radar, with huge implications for public health in Africa. Since the Abuja 2000 Political Declaration on Roll Back Malaria, global efforts have dramatically reduced the global malaria burden. Unprecedented partnerships …
It is time to unite to fight against malaria
In the face of the current COVID-19 pandemic, a renewed effort to end malaria has never been so vital. In the past few years, progress toward eradicating malaria has levelled off, according to the World Health Organization. Even more worrying are reports that the disease is on the rise in some high-burden countries. “A lot …