Malaria experts have warned that the world will not be able to bring the disease under control using currently available tools.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has a target of reducing the number of cases and deaths by 90% by the year 2030, but even with the most optimistic projections, a team of scientists and public health specialists have said the goal cannot be achieved.

In its report after its 3-year study of trends and future projections for the factors and determinants that underpin malaria, the WHO Strategic Advisory Group on Malaria Eradication (SAGme) reaffirmed that eradication is a goal worth pursuing, likely to save millions of lives and billions of dollars. However, with our current tools, we are far from a malaria-free world.

Their report revealed that the mosquito nets, insecticides, diagnostic tests and treatments being used today were developed decades ago, saying there was a need for the development of new methods which could cost billions.

The projected benefits are huge – two billion cases of malaria and four million deaths would be prevented.

Malaria is one of the world’s biggest killers. Each year, about 400,000 people – mostly children in Africa – die from the disease.

Progress towards ending malaria has stalled globally.

The team of experts advising the WHO on malaria eradication say that between the years 2000 and 2015 the number of cases declined by more than a fifth, and deaths fell by half. But since then, nothing much has changed.

The report states:

“The current tools for vector control – principally insecticide-treated mosquito nets and indoor residual spraying – are old and imperfect and do not attack outdoor biting.

“Using current tools, we will still have 11 million cases of malaria in Africa in 2050. In these circumstances, it is impossible to either set a target date for malaria eradication, formulate a reliable operational plan for malaria eradication or to give it a price tag.

Even under the most optimistic scenario, however, with current tools and approaches fully implemented everywhere, our analyses do not show that malaria eradication can be achieved within the next several decades: the model that we reviewed showed 11 million malaria cases remaining in Africa in 2050 even after current interventions are maximised.

“The areas left behind in that future scenario are the parts of Africa where malaria is currently the most entrenched.”

In its executive summary, SAGme calls for more investment in research and development of new tools and approaches to fight malaria, stronger universal health coverage so that everyone can access the services they need, and better surveillance to guide a more targeted malaria response.

 

Download full report here:

WHO SAGme Report on Malaria Eradication