Malaria Deaths Halved in Seven African Countries

At least seven African countries or regions have cut the number of malaria deaths by half following an intensive drive to protect people from the disease, the World Health Organization said today.

Measures to combat malaria included bed nets, the treatment of those who fall sick and the elimination of malaria-carrying mosquitos, the WHO said.

The success stories include Eritrea, Rwanda and the island of Sao Tome and Principe, which are not only managing to prevent and treat malaria but also have good data on cases and deaths.

In a report on the global burden of the disease, published today, the WHO says more countries may be bringing death rates down but do not yet have statistical proof.

"With dramatic increases in funding and intense momentum towards reducing the malaria burden in recent years, we have a greater need for reliable information and analysis," said the WHO director general, Margaret Chan.

"Progress in malaria control has accelerated dramatically since 2006, especially in the wake of the UN secretary general's call for universal malaria control coverage by the end of 2010. We expect these expanded efforts to be reflected in future reports."

The report, which covers the years 2004 to 2006, reveals a mixed picture in most countries and a big mountain to climb.

It estimates there were 247 million people infected and an estimated 881,000 deaths in 2006. Nearly all who died (91%) were in Africa, and 85% were children under the age of five.

There is now general agreement on a package of measures to fight malaria.

But drugs, bed nets and sprays are slow to get to where they are needed, particularly in the worst-hit areas of Africa. Their coverage is far short of the 80% target for coverage set by the WHO.

Surveys in 18 African countries have revealed that 34% of households own an insecticide-treated bed net but they are not always used to protect the most vulnerable - only 23% of children and 27% of pregnant women slept under a net.

A new class of antimalarial drugs, the artimisinin compounds, have been recommended for universal use because growing resistance in the malaria parasite has rendered old drugs useless.

In the 18 African countries surveyed, less than half the children with fever - 38% - got any treatment with antimalarials, and only 3% were given artimisinin therapy.

Indoor spraying to kill malarial mosquitos has regained acceptability, but only five African countries reported sufficient insecticide spraying to protect at least 70% of the people at risk.