World Malaria Day 2022: Urgent call to prioritise achieving 2030 elimination targets

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2021 Malaria Report shows that the disease continues to be a significant health concern for the African region, which accounted for 95% of all global malaria cases (228 million) and 96% of all malaria deaths (602,000)

26 April 2022, Johannesburg - This World Malaria Day, Goodbye Malaria is appealing for urgent action to ensure malaria is eliminated in Southern Africa and for the 2030 elimination target to remain a priority for the global community.

The African-run social benefit organisation says this day, marked each year on 25 April, is a reminder that the malaria burden is much higher than previously estimated and that half of the world’s population is still at risk.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2021 Malaria Report shows that the disease continues to be a significant health concern for the African region, which accounted for 95% of all global malaria cases (228 million) and 96% of all malaria deaths (602,000) in 2020. Tragically, 80% of annual malaria deaths are among African children under five, with a child dying from this disease every minute. 

As a result, Goodbye Malaria says the Southern African malaria community won’t meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 target of eradicating this epidemic by 2030 unless a new approach to combating the disease is taken.

“In commemorating World Malaria Day, we’re reminded that we’ve fallen behind in reducing malaria cases and deaths globally. The progress we’d made three years ago has plateaued, which has led to an even more urgent need for new solutions, innovations, and tools that can get us back on track to eliminate this deadly disease,” says Sherwin Charles, co-founder of Goodbye Malaria.

“However, we’re also reminded of the great strides that have been made in South Africa with the National Department of Health prioritising the elimination of this disease. For example, we’ve seen a 91% reduction in the country’s cases since 2000, as well as an 88% reduction in deaths over the same period.

The World Malaria Day 2022 theme – ADVANCE EQUITY. BUILD RESILIENCE. END MALARIA. – aims to raise awareness of this urgent need for action. Most importantly, it seeks to empower organisations like Goodbye Malaria to advocate for a scale-up of new and existing tools and data-led strategies for Southern African countries.

Advancing Equity

Goodbye Malaria says the unfortunate reality is that the poorest communities suffer the harshest impact of malaria, which keeps people in poverty. Therefore, eliminating malaria will also require advancing equality by providing poor communities with access to life-saving drugs and commodities.

“We've seen how the world can operate inequitably when equal access to healthcare is concerned. A recent example is how wealthy countries hoarded the COVID-19 vaccine for their use, leaving endemic Africa without access.”

The role of resilient healthcare systems

Goodbye Malaria says the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need to invest in resilient healthcare systems to help the region achieve malaria elimination, ensure countries have access to platforms that can combat multiple other diseases, and safeguard against future pandemics. Without these systems, the region will struggle to control and treat malaria and many other diseases.

For example, investments in laboratory networks for malaria allowed regions to carry out molecular work, like PCR tests, during the pandemic. In the same way, investing in community health workers not only creates resources that can mainly focus on malaria cases but can also test for and treat other diseases,” adds Charles.

Getting malaria elimination back on track

Goodbye Malaria warns that infected countries cannot afford to wait years for new insecticides, 40 years for a vaccine, or rely on outdated statistics.

“Despite our country’s progress towards our elimination goal through implementing evidence-based malaria strategies, eradicating this disease will require additional resources. For example, COVID-19 has shown us that we can get daily data, which is something the world of malaria has unfortunately lacked. So, the global community will require real-time data for informed decision making to ensure it meets its elimination targets. The more relevant the data, the more laser-focused our interventions can be.”

Goodbye Malaria emphasises the importance of community ownership of interventions, such as investing in information, education and commination (IEC) and behavioural change initiatives, furthermore ensuring civil society is part of the solution and that people-centric solutions are implemented.

Community engagement relies on early participation, frequent feedback, and active support from those most affected by malaria. These communities have the most to gain from elimination, including improved health and wellbeing, reduced household income loss, less school absenteeism from children, and further unlocking human potential. The benefits are vast and intrinsically linked to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Goodbye Malaria kept its integrated vector management programmes operational. Its 2021 indoor residual spray season saw close to 800,000 houses sprayed through the collective efforts of over 2,900 spray operators. Just over 60% of the operators are female.

“Year on year, we have seen our programme expand significantly, with this past year being no exception. Our malaria elimination programmes were conducted in the three Southernmost provinces in Mozambique, three eastern provinces in South Africa, and Eswatini – impacting the lives of over three million people in the MOSASWA region (Mozambique, South Africa and Eswatini),” concludes Charles.