WHO: Covid-19 disruptions caused surge in malaria deaths
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In a recent report, WHO reported that approximately two-thirds of additional deaths due to malaria were linked to disruptions in the provision of the disease’s prevention.
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The situation has deteriorated in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday that pandemic-related disruptions caused tens of thousands more malaria deaths in 2020, but that prompt action averted a far worse scenario.
In a new report, the UN health agency found that COVID-19 had reversed progress against the mosquito-borne disease, which was already plateauing before the pandemic struck.
There were an estimated 241 million malaria cases worldwide in 2020, up 14 million from the previous year, and the once-rapidly-falling death toll rose to 627,000 last year, up 69,000 from 2019.
According to the WHO, approximately two-thirds of the additional deaths were caused by disruptions in malaria prevention, diagnosis, and treatment during the pandemic.
On his account, WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement that "thanks to the hard work of public health agencies in malaria-affected countries, the worst projections of Covid's impact have not come to pass”.
The situation, however, has deteriorated in Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for 95% of all malaria cases and 96% of all deaths, with children under the age of five accounting for approximately 80% of all deaths.
