Malaria

Description

U.S. funding supports the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), housed at USAID, for implementation of malaria prevention and treatment activities in 24 countries throughout Africa and Southeast Asia. It also funds the development of malaria vaccines, antimalarial drugs, diagnostics, insecticides, and other malaria-related research.

What does it buy?

Malaria funding supports the purchase and delivery of insecticide-treated bed nets, antimalarial drugs, insecticide-spraying in homes, and the development of new tools such as novel insecticides and new vaccine candidates.

Why is it important?

• Malaria kills one child every two minutes. It is one of the most severe public health problems worldwide and the leading cause of death and disease in many developing countries, where young children and pregnant women are the most affected.
• In 2018, an estimated 228 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide, compared with 251 million in 2010.
• In 2018, an estimated 405,000 people died from malaria, 67% (272,000) of whom were children.
• Almost 85% of all deaths in 2018 occurred in 20 countries in Africa and India, and nearly 50% of all malaria deaths globally were in Nigeria (24%); the Democratic Republic of the Congo (11%); Tanzania (5%); and Niger, Mozambique, and Angola (4% each).

Why should Americans care?

• Malaria continues to claim the lives of more than 435,000 people each year, largely in Africa. Children under the age of 5 are especially vulnerable.
• Endemic in 87 countries, malaria’s economic impact is staggering. It is estimated that the direct costs of malaria exceed $12 billion annually.
• Malaria affects over 1,500 Americans each year who are traveling or working abroad and return to the U.S. carrying the disease.

What more could be done?

• A total investment of $820 million would allow PMI to respond to critical issues emerging within the fight against malaria—namely the growing resistance of the mosquito to the insecticides used to treat bed nets. Using data collected through ongoing entomological studies, PMI could target the distribution of the upgraded nets, protecting over 80 million people.
• Additional investments could accelerate the WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030. The goals of the Strategy are to:
  • Reduce cases of malaria by at least 90% by 2030;
  • Reduce malaria mortality rates by at least 90% by 2030;
  • Eliminate malaria in at least 35 countries by 2030; and
  • Prevent a resurgence of malaria in all malaria-free countries.