Other countries, such as Rwanda-Uganda, have seen their populations move to other countries seeking safety. There is enough census data in Africa, however, to try to sort out the malaria problem. Doctors and scientists have solved the malaria problem before, according to Tatem. The Gridded Population of the World GPW data set has undergone a substantial improvement in the number of input units and in the target years of estimation.
This table describes these improvements, and also refers to the new Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project GRUMP data collection, which shows how many people live in urban versus rural areas. Information courtesy of Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center. And, as Europeans improved their housing with windowpanes, screens and doors, they lessened malaria risks there.
Growing cities and changing land use also removed many mosquito breeding grounds, but these precautions were often not taken in Africa. Snow said solving the malaria problem boils down to understanding where people live in relation to the malaria risk, and that's why the GPW, GRUMP, and population prediction data are so important.
Analysis using GPW and UN projected population growth suggests million births will occur within the malaria-infested areas of the world in the next five years, according to Tatem, but even that isn't a clear indicator of future malaria numbers. For example, the population boom will possibly cause those areas to become more urban, thus reducing mosquito habitat. At the turn of the 20th century, about 77 percent of the world's population was at-risk of contracting malaria. By , that number had fallen to 46 percent.
But in , it went back up to 48 percent because of population growth in at-risk areas. This underscores the need for accurate population data, and for a thorough understanding of how population distribution affects the spread of infectious diseases.
Despite his frustrations, Snow continues to conduct research in Kenya and work with African governments to control the problem. Malaria by the Numbers. Image courtesy of James Gathany and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention In the s, scientists found that using bed nets significantly decreased the chance of getting malaria, yet fewer than 5 percent of African children sleep under them, according to Snow. In addition, limited funding leads to the use of cheaper drugs to which the malaria parasite has developed resistance, which makes them ineffective.
Success, however, in the fight against malaria is fragile and closely tied to sustained investment. In recent years, there has been a plateau in the funding of the global malaria response.
There is growing evidence that access to skilled and quality malaria services and care may have been negatively impacted by country responses to the COVID pandemic, including lockdown measures, transportation disruptions, diversion of resources away from essential health services, as well as because of fears of infection. In , for example, there were significant disruptions to bednet distribution campaigns due to COVID mitigation efforts. There are concerns that these disruptions have also affected other malaria prevention and treatment programmes.
Many of these disruptions have also coincided with malaria peak season, causing additional concern for the toll that the pandemic could have on malaria mortality and morbidity in children. Sleeping under insecticide-treated mosquito nets ITNs on a regular basis is one of the most effective ways to prevent malaria transmission and reduce malaria related deaths. Since , the production, procurement and delivery of ITNs, particularly long-lasting insecticide treated nets LLINs , have accelerated, resulting in increased household ownership and use.
Over 1 billion ITNs have been distributed in Africa since , and annual distribution continues to increase. In , manufacturers delivered about million ITNs to malaria endemic countries, an increase of 56 million ITNs compared with However, ownership is uneven across countries, ranging from 31 per cent in Angola to approximately 97 per cent in Guinea-Bissau.
In addition, only 35 per cent of households had sufficient ITNs for all household members, which is drastically short of universal access to this preventive measure. Since , the percentage of children sleeping under ITNs in sub-Saharan Africa increased from less than 40 per cent to over 50 per cent.
But despite recent progress in sub-Saharan Africa, the overall use of treated mosquito nets falls short of the global target of universal coverage, and many children are not benefiting from this potentially life-saving intervention. Large country and regional variations exist. Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa increased ITN use among children under age 5 in an equitable way. This was largely due to free distribution campaigns that emphasized poor and rural areas. The success of this strategy has been reflected in an increased use of ITNs by vulnerable populations.
Early diagnosis and treatment are essential for more favourable malaria outcomes. As fever is a key manifestation of malaria in children, particularly in malaria endemic regions, care-seeking for febrile children is crucial to reducing child morbidity and mortality. In sub-Saharan Africa, 60 per cent of children with a fever were taken for advice or treatment from a health facility or provider.
Data show disparities in care-seeking behaviour for febrile children by residence, with those living in urban areas more likely to be taken for care than those in rural areas.
Disparities are also observed by wealth, with a 19 percentage point difference in care-seeking behaviour between children in the richest 71 per cent and the poorest 52 per cent households. Whilst fever is an indicator of malaria in children, it can also be a sign of other acute infections. Nearly , children under the age of five die of malaria died in equivalent to nearly young lives lost each day.
During those 15 years, 6. Progress on malaria is beginning to show signs of stagnation. In , 91 countries reported a combined total of million malaria cases — 5 million more than in Rwanda and Nigeria together saw an increase of over 1.
An estimated 90 per cent of malaria deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa, with , deaths in Malaria preys upon the vulnerable: children under five years of age, the poorest and most marginalized, pregnant women and their unborn children.
Malaria in pregnancy contributes significantly to deaths of mothers and young children, with an estimated tally of at least 10, women and , infants under one year old. More than one in three malaria deaths occur in two countries: Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Sleeping under an insecticide-treated bed net ITN is the most common and most effective way to prevent malaria infection. However, the rate of increase in ITN coverage has slowed since
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