Malaria is a disease caused by the blood parasite Plasmodium, which is transmitted by mosquitoes. Malaria, from the Medieval Italian words mala aria or bad air, causes 350 million to 500 million illnesses per year and kills more than one million people mostly children under the age of five.
Malaria is particularly devastating in Africa, where it is a leading killer of children. In fact, there are 10 new cases of malaria every second. Every 30 seconds, a child in Africa dies from a malaria infection.
Malaria is also the number one killer of refugees in Africa.
Forty percent of the worlds population lives in malaria endemic countries, and its treatment consumes nearly 40 percent of these countries public health resources. In addition to the burden on local healthcare systems, malaria illness and death costs Africa approximately $12 billion per year in lost productivity. The effects permeate almost every sector. Malaria:
Increases school absenteeism
Decreases tourism
Inhibits foreign investment
Affects crop production
Malaria has been brought under control and even eliminated in many parts of Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Yet in Africa, with increasing drug resistance and struggling health systems, malaria infections have increased over the last three decades.
Preventable and Treatable
While malaria remains one of the deadliest diseases on the African continent, infections can be prevented either by spraying insecticides indoors or by sleeping under long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets. Additionally, anti-malarial drugs, such as artemisinin and other combination therapies (if used early enough) can be used to treat malaria once it is contracted.
Post published in: News