LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — When there were a small number of cases of locally transmitted malaria found in the United States last year, it was a reminder that climate change is reviving the immigration the threat of certain diseases. But across the African continent malaria has never gone away, killing or sickening millions of people.
Meet Funmilayo Kotun, a 66-year-old resident of Makoko, an informal neighborhood in the city of Lagos, Nigeria. Its lakes of dirty water provide favorable breeding conditions for the mosquitoes that spread malaria. Kotun cannot afford insecticide-treated bedding that costs between $7 and $21 each, much less medicine or anti-malaria treatment.
For World Malaria Day on Thursday, here’s what you need to know about the situation in Africa:
Malaria IS STILL WIDESPREAD
The malaria parasite is mainly transmitted to humans through infected mosquitoes and can cause symptoms such as fever, headaches and chills. It mainly affects children under 5 and pregnant women. Vaccination efforts are still in the early stages: Cameroon this year became the first country to routinely give children a new malaria vaccine, which is only about 30% effective and does not stop transmission. ONE second vaccine recently approved.
Cases of resistance to antimalarial drugs and insecticides are increasing, while government and donor funding for innovation is slowing.
Living conditions play a role, with crowded neighborhoods, standing water, poor sanitation, and lack of access to treatment and prevention materials all issues in many areas. And an invasive species of the mosquito previously observed mainly in India and the Persian Gulf is a new concern.
A PROBLEM GROWING UP
Globally, malaria cases are increasing. Infections increased from 233 million in 2019 to 249 million in 85 countries in 2022. Malaria deaths increased from 576,000 in 2019 to 608,000 in 2022, according to the World Health Organization.
Of the 12 countries that carry about 70% of the global burden of malaria, 11 are in Africa and the other is India. Children under 5 accounted for 80% of the 580,000 malaria deaths recorded in Africa in 2022.
COVID-19 HURT PROGRESS
The fight against malaria has made some progress in areas such as rapid diagnostic tests, vaccines and new nets to tackle insecticide resistance, but the COVID-19 pandemic and a shift in focus and funding have delayed efforts.
A study published in Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease last year reported that lockdowns caused by COVID-19 led to outages in 30% of rural community health service points across Africa. Malaria cases have started to rise again, breaking a downward trend between 2000 and 2019.
This downward trend could soon reverse, according to the WHO.
A WARM WORLD AND NEW FRONTIER
Africa is “at the sharp end of climate change” and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events is wreaking havoc on efforts to fight malaria in low- and middle-income areas, said Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS. Tuberculosis and malaria, warned in December.
In 2023, the WHO World Malaria Report included for the first time a chapter on the link between malaria and climate change, highlighting its importance as a potential risk multiplier. Scientists worry that people who lived in areas once inhospitable to mosquitoes, including the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and the mountains of eastern Ethiopia, could be exposed.
In Zimbabwe, which has recorded some of its hottest days in decades, malaria transmission periods have lengthened in some areas, “and this change has been attributed to climate change,” said Dr. Precious Andifasi, WHO Technical Officer for Malaria in Zimbabwe.
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Muchaka reported from Harare, Zimbabwe.
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