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  • WHO World Malaria Report 2014: Global death rate due to malaria down by 47%

WHO World Malaria Report 2014: Global death rate due to malaria down by 47%

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Written By: Shraddha Rupavate | Published : December 9, 2014 1:06 PM IST

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The World Health Organisation (WHO) today released the World Malaria report highlighting the dramatic drop in mortality rate due to malaria since the year 2000 along with the steady decline in malaria cases for the past few years.

Summarising the data collected from malaria-endemic countries, and updates from other sources presented in last year's report, the report highlights some significant updates about global fight against malaria. Here are a few points:

  • The mortality rate due to malaria between 2000 and 2013 has lowered by as high as 47 per cent on a global level. The highest drop (54 per cent) was noted in WHO African Region, where earlier 90 percent of malaria deaths occur.
  • According to the report, Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka for the first time ever reported zero indigenous malaria cases.
  • 11 countries -- Argentina, Armenia, Egypt, Georgia, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Oman, Paraguay, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan -- achieved the target of maintaining zero cases.
  • The efforts of declining malaria mortality has also been attributed to the various rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for malaria developed by 2013. These diagnostics globally procured upto 319 million by 2013, from 46 million in 2008.
  • Intervention therapies in 2013, especially the 392 million courses of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), were procured up from 11 million in 2005.
  • Use and availability of insecticide-treated bed nets has also increased significantly.

Looking at the global progress in combating malaria, Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General, WHO said 'We can win the fight against malaria. We have the right tools and our defences are working. But we still need to get those tools to a lot more people if we are to make these gains sustainable. (Read: New malaria research New compound that kills malaria parasite discovered)

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Despite the progress, Dr Pedro L Alonso, Director of WHO s Global Malaria Programme noted that the coming years would be extremely critical to maintain the momentum of battle against malaria. The fact that one-third of houses in Africa, where malaria is prevalent does not have access to single insecticide treated net, diagnostic services and treatment, among other interventions. (Read: 11 complications of malaria you should know)

Don't miss these top 10 facts about malaria

Image source: Getty images

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Shraddha Rupavate

Shraddha Rupavate

Combining her Biotechnology background and sheer passion for reading and writing, Shraddha entered the field of scientific and health reporting in order to expand her knowledge base and communicate scientific information in the simplest form to millions of readers. ... Read More