Rising to the challenge
To eradicate malaria, the world must commit to increased funding, more research and development of such tools as vaccines, as well as bold political leadership towards achieving universal health coverage.
Representatives from the international malaria community, meeting in Geneva at the Forum on Rising to the Challenge of Malaria Eradication, agreed these elements are essential to rid the world of this disease, which every year kills approximately 400 000 people, mostly children in sub-Saharan Africa. The meeting brought together representatives from governments, non-governmental associations, multilateral organizations and academia.
Opening the forum, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that a malaria-free world has been WHO’s vision since at least 1955. He noted that the world has made incredible progress against the disease, adding that the fight against malaria was not just the right thing to do, “it’s the smart thing to do.”
New and better use of tools
Dr Tedros said he would be thrilled if malaria could be eradicated within the next several decades. However, he cited the recent findings of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group on Malaria Eradication (SAGme), which concluded that eradication could not yet be achieved with current tools and strategies. The SAGme executive summary was issued after a 3-year study which analyzed future scenarios for malaria. Dr Tedros observed that the call for new and better use of tools was also part of a new report on malaria eradication presented at the forum – the Lancet Commission on Malaria Eradication.
Since the 1950s, WHO has certified 38 countries and overseas territories as malaria-free. Malaria deaths have fallen by more than half since the year 2000. Despite this success, progress has stalled with global malaria cases and deaths virtually unchanged since 2015.
Dr Pedro Alonso, Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme, called for the world to get back on track to meet the global goals for malaria, which would underpin an ultimate push towards eradication. As one of its goals, the WHO Global Technical Strategy seeks, by 2030, to reduce malaria incidence and mortality rates globally by at least 90% compared with 2015 levels.
Boosted investment needed
Presenting the Lancet Commission report, co-author Dr Richard Feachem said its findings showed low levels of malaria persisting in pockets in Africa in 2050. However, through better use of existing tools such as bed nets, medicines and insecticides, new tools such as gene drive technology as well as increased investment by governments of about $2 billion per year, the Lancet Commission believes the world could be free of malaria by 2050.
Delivering the keynote address, the Hon. Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, Minister of Health of Uganda, emphasized the role of political leadership in what she called de-normalizing malaria “so that we can get rid of it.”
She said that in 2018 Uganda launched “mass action against malaria to engage all arms of government towards a malaria-free future” and added that a deliberate and integrated approach with the private sector was necessary for success.