Malaria is a global killing factor that has proven to be more deadly than most diseases in the world, each year it claims almost half a million lives, of which 61 percent are under the age of 5. Nevertheless, global scientists believe that malaria could be eradicated by 2050.
In a new report published by the Lancet Commission on malaria eradication, authored by 26 of the world’s leading malaria experts evidence was proven that with the right strategies, tools and funding total removal of this disease is not impossible.
Sir Richard Feachem the co-chairman of the Lancet Commission on malaria eradication and director of the Global Health Group at UC San Francisco claimed that ‘’This report shows that eradication is possible within a generation.
But to achieve this common vision, we simply cannot continue with a business-as-usual approach… he said’’.
The report further shows that Incidents of malaria globally since 2000, has gone down by 36 and 60 per cent respectively, due to innovative new tools and strategies, and increased investments culminating to $4.3 billion in the year 2016.
Presently, more than half of the countries all over the world are malaria-free. Though, this progress still hangs in balance as there have also been records of an increase in malaria cases in over 55 countries which cuts across Asia, America, Latin, and Africa.
Furthermore , in the report to back up their claims the authors make use of new modelling to estimate plausible scenarios of global change in 2030 and 2050 with and without the scale-up of malaria interventions, to illustrate future changes in the intensity and distribution of malaria, the hypothesis shows that social and environmental trends are in most places helping to move down malaria incidence and that maintaining current flows would likely create a world free of malaria by 2050.
The scientists also propose that for a malaria-free nation, better development of vaccines and drugs, as well as a funding boost of $2 billion would help facilitate progress and riding the nation of malaria would most definitely defeat the problem of drug resistance by the disease and insecticide resistance of its host the ‘’ mosquitoes’’.
