Spotlight on Malaria: How Exhela Initiative and global bodies are fighting to end the scourge

The fight against malaria is a global one, and Sub Saharan Africa region is at the center of it. In 2020, WHO data showed that four African countries accounted for just over half of all malaria deaths worldwide: Nigeria (31.9%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (13.2%), United Republic of Tanzania (4.1%) and Mozambique (3.8%). 

The geography of malaria cases worldwide. Source: CDC

The Guardian reports that some 100 million people get infected yearly in Nigeria, out of which about 300,000 deaths are recorded.

Malaria is one of the most severe public health problems worldwide, and a leading cause of disease and death, particularly in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2021 World Malaria Report:

• Nearly half of the world’s population lives in areas at risk of malaria transmission in 87 countries and territories.
• In 2020, malaria caused an estimated 241 million clinical episodes, and 627,000 deaths. An estimated 95% of deaths in 2020 were in the WHO African Region.

The US Center for Disease Control (CDC) lists the following three (3) groups as being the most vulnerable to malaria: 

• Young children, who have not yet developed partial immunity to malaria
• Pregnant women, whose immunity is decreased by pregnancy, especially during the first and second pregnancies
• Travelers or migrants coming from areas with little or no malaria transmission, who lack immunity.

According to UNICEF, every 2 minutes, a child under 5 dies of malaria. They also express concern that there is “growing evidence that access to skilled and quality malaria services and care may have been negatively impacted by country responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, including lockdown measures, transportation disruptions, diversion of resources away from essential health services, as well as because of fears of infection”. 

"Malaria prevention and treatment programmes such as bednet distribution campaigns have been significantly affected due to the pandemic", the UNICEF found.

As a result of the above, there were significant increases in both malaria cases and mortality before the pandemic (in 2019) and during the pandemic (in 2020). In 2020, an estimated 241 million cases of malaria were reported by the WHO, compared to 227 million in 2019, a 6% increase in cases. Similarly, 627,000 malaria deaths were recorded in 2020, compared to 558,000 in 2019, a 12% jump.

Over the years, however, some successes have been recorded in the global fight to combat malaria. For instance, between year 2000 and 2019, mortality rates among children under 5 fell from 84 to 67 percent according to the UNICEF, but it also notes that this recorded success is “fragile and closely tied to sustained investment”. 

Funding is critical in this effort, and the UNICEF notes that the $3 billion funding that went into global efforts to fight the disease in 2019 is less than half of what is needed in order to achieve the goal of a malaria-free world. 

Governments, international organizations, corporates, and some wealthy individuals have been, and continue to be a major source of funding towards the global fight against malaria. The notable Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Initiative has been at the forefront of the fight since it was set up in year 2000 by the WHO, UNICEF, United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the World Bank. 

According to the UN, over 500 development groups, private- and public- sector organizations, and research and academic institutions have pooled their resources and expertise to fight malaria under the RBM initiative. In Africa particularly, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is well noted for its efforts in generously funding various programs aimed at fighting malaria on the continent.

There are also other small groups in the rural parts of various African countries and elsewhere who are putting in the work and funds to fight the disease. One of such is the Excellent Health for Africa (Exhela) Initiative, led by community health advocate and public health professional, Prisca Onyegwara. 

Exhela Initiative regularly organizes outreaches in Nigeria’s rural communities, to educate people on healthy measures aimed at staying safe from malaria, and to also provide free malaria tests, free anti-malarial drugs, and free medical consultation to locals and residents.

This coming April 25th, they will be at Ogbaku, a rural community in south eastern Nigeria, and The Paul Anunaso Blog will be partnering with them to reach out to at least 500 people with medical help and education to help combat malaria, in commemoration of this year’s World Malaria Day.

Through endeavors such as this, we are happy to contribute our quota to the actualization of the goals of the global technical strategy for malaria of the World Health Organization, and we also hope to inspire other people and groups to do whatever little they can, in order to contribute to this noble global fight to end malaria. 

As has already been aptly noted by the UNICEF, the successes that have been recorded so far in the fight against malaria are “fragile and closely tied to sustained investment”. We couldn't agree more, that now more than ever, all hands must be on deck. 

Paul Anunaso is the editor of The Paul Anunaso Blog. He writes from Lagos, Nigeria and can be reached at thepaulanunasoblog@gmail.com