WORLD MALARIA DAY 25^TH APRIL 2021

25^th April is the World Malaria Day. The day is celebrated to raise awareness  on malaria disease to promote efforts  that can prevent malaria. Malaria is caused by the female Anopheles mosquitoes that spread the plasmodium parasite through their saliva when they bite humans.

The World Theme for this year is, “ZERO MALARIA – DRAW THE LINE AGAINST MALARIA” because every malaria case is preventable, and every malaria death is unacceptable.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), deaths that have been recorded in Africa in 2020 due to malaria come up to 384,000. In 2019, the WHO African Region accounted for 94% of both the 229 million malaria cases and 409,000 malaria deaths reported globally. This is despite the great progress made in malaria response in the region. At least 7.6 million malaria related deaths have been averted since 2000 in the whole world which is a historic progress against malaria.

According to Severe Malaria Observatory, Malawi is among the top 20 countries with highest malaria prevalence and mortality rates. About 7.4% of all Malaria cases in Eastern and Southern Africa occur in Malawi. Between 2015 and 2018, the case burden for malaria stagnated at between 214 to 217 per 1000 of the population at risk while deaths fell by about 13% from 0.41 to 0.36 per 1000 of the population at risk.

Malaria is endemic in over 95% of Malawi and was responsible for 36% of all outpatients’ visits, 46% of all in-patient cases, and 24% of all patient deaths in 2016.

Malaria transmission is at its peak in high temperature areas as well as locations that have more rainfall and humidity, for Malawi these places are mostly along the low-lying lakeshore areas and lower Shire valley area.

Preventive measures for malaria transmission in Malawi include   sleeping under insecticide treated nets, fumigation services against mosquitoes and use of mosquito repellant body oils and products. The National Malaria control Program is leading the prevention treatment, and care services that also targets pregnant women. Some of the Districts that have been targeted for fumigation or residual spraying are Balaka, Mangochi and Nkhatabay.

It is obvious that the coming of Covid-19 has compromised the fight against malaria but the fight malaria has to go on.

Maziko Matemba writes in his article in the Nation Newspaper of Monday, 26^th April 2021, “The efforts to beat Covid-19 must not come at the expense of accelerating progress against Malaria. Malaria investments can be leveraged to fight Covid-19 and emerging diseases by promoting and facilitating safe and timely treatment of fever and ensuring that health workers are adequately protected and equipped.”

DID YOU KNOW?

1. Malaria kills 6 people in Malawi everyday
2. Sleeping under treated mosquito net every night helps to prevent malaria
3. Seeking health care within 24hours of onset symptoms helps to prevent escalation of malaria.
4. Young people, must seek early malaria treatment when they are presenting malaria symptoms to avoid escalation to cerebral Malaria
5. Malaria can only be cured by anti-malaria drugs and not pain killers
6. Upon onset symptoms of malaria which include; fever, headache, chills, nausea, vomiting, body weakness, visit nearest clinic within 24 hours for testing and treatment