World Malaria Day is celebrated every year on 25th April. On this day, the African Union Commission (AUC) joined the rest of the world to celebrate the seven million lives saved, and over one billion malaria cases averted through life-saving mosquito nets, among other interventions.
World Malaria Day 2021 came at a time when healthcare systems in Africa are under the enormous strain of the Covid-19 pandemic. Throughout the pandemic however, African Union (AU) Member States continued to ensure that comprehensive approaches like education, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, that have produced tangible results in the fight against malaria, were sustained.
Most of the achievements have been realized through the Zero Malaria Starts With Me Campaign implemented by the AU Commission in partnership with African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) and Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership to End Malaria in 2018.
To date, nineteen (19) AU Member States have rolled out the campaign, seven (7) of which were launched in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. 90% of planned net distribution campaigns went ahead with COVID safety measures in place. More children than ever before were reached with preventive antimalarial medicines in areas of highly seasonal transmission whilst following COVID-19 protocols. The campaign’s advances and impact have demonstrated AU Member States’ dedication to reach the targets set in the Africa Health Strategy and the Catalytic Framework to End AIDS, TB, and Eliminate Malaria in Africa by 2030.
According to the WHO, between 2000 and 2019, malaria incidents declined by 29% and deaths by 60% in its Africa region. More than 1.2 billion cases and 7.1 million deaths were averted. Cabo Verde has maintained zero malaria status since 2018, Algeria was certified malaria free in 2019, and Botswana, Ethiopia, the Gambia, Ghana, Namibia and South Africa achieved the 2020 milestones of reducing malaria incidents and deaths by 40% compared to 2015.
In February, Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is the Chairperson of the African Malaria Leaders Alliance (ALMA), launched the ALMA Youth Army Strategy that puts young people at the centre of the fight against malaria, in line with continental commitments.
“Zero Malaria Starts with Me” is a continent-wide campaign for a malaria-free Africa. Co-led by the African Union Commission and the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, the campaign provides a model of domestic malaria advocacy that:
- engages political leaders and influential members of society;
- builds relationships with the private sector and attracts new sources of funding;
- raises awareness and ownership about malaria prevention, testing, and care among communities;
- increases the visibility of malaria programmes; and
- increases total domestic resources available for malaria.
However, malaria remains a major challenge in many countries. Over 384 000 lives were lost to malaria in Africa in 2020, according to the World Health Organisation. It says many households do not have insecticide treated bed nets, testing for malaria is not yet universal, and there were 11.6 million malaria cases among pregnant women.
The African Union believes that through innovation, investment, determination and commitment, the continent can reach zero malaria. “Ending malaria’s scourge will have a long-term, transformative impact and save millions of lives. The AU Commission will continue to support the AU Member States to draw the line against malaria”, said the AU Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development (HHS), Mrs Amira ElFadil on World Malaria Day. #ZeroMalariaStartsWithMe.
Read more about the Campaign’s tools @ https://zeromalaria.africa/all-tools
