GENEVA, Dec 9 — The number of people worldwide who contract and die from malaria on an annual basis has decreased significantly since 2000, according to a new report published by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In its World Malaria Report 2014, the WHO estimated there were 198 million malaria infections worldwide in 2013, down from 227 million in 2000.
Some 882,000 people died from malaria in 2000, a figured that dropped to 584,000 in 2013. The malaria mortality rate decreased by 47 per cent during the same period.
Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka reported zero indigenous cases for the first time in 2013, while 11 other countries also reported zero cases.
A key factor behind the success in the fight against malaria is the increasing accessibility of mosquito nets to people at risk. In 2013 half of at-risk people in Sub-Saharan Africa had access to insecticide-treated mosquito bed nets, compared with only 3 per cent in 2004.
Another key factor is improved access to rapid diagnostic tests. Last year 319 million rapid diagnostic tests were purchased globally, compared with 46 million in 2008.
However, the WHO warned that malaria may again spread in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, as the Ebola epidemic has put a huge strain on the public health systems in those countries.
The WHO said that while funds for malaria control increased threefold last year, that was only about half of the US$5.1 billion (RM17.76 billion) needed to achieve its targets. — Reuters
