"Time to deliver zero malaria." world malaria day 2023.

To address these threats and support countries in building more resilient malaria programmes, WHO recently published new guidance, including:

a new strategy to contain antimalarial drug resistance in Africa;

a new initiative to stop the spread of Anopheles stephensi in urban environments;

a new framework, developed jointly by WHO and UN-Habitat, to guide city leaders in urban malaria control.

a new toolkit to help countries assess their malaria surveillance systems and identify areas for investment

To support malaria-endemic countries, WHO has also increased the transparency, flexibility and access to its malaria recommendations. WHO encourages countries to tailor the recommendations to local disease settings, using local data, for maximum impact. All WHO malaria guidance is available through two digital platforms:

 MAGICapp – The consolidated WHO guidelines for malaria are accessible through the MAGICapp platform in English, French, Arabic and Spanish;

 Malaria Toolkit app – WHO’s most up-to-date recommendations on malaria can also be found in the Malaria Toolkit app.

WHO’s consolidated guidelines are a “living” document that is updated periodically as and when new guidance becomes available. In June 2022, WHO updated its recommendations for 3 key chemoprevention strategies.

Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) is recommended for children living in areas with highly seasonal malaria transmission in Africa.

Perennial malaria chemoprevention (PMC) is recommended for young children living in areas where malaria is a year-round disease, and where transmission is high.

Intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy (IPTp) is recommended for all pregnant women living in areas of moderate-to-high malaria transmission in Africa.

When given to the young children and pregnant women who are most vulnerable to malaria, preventive chemotherapy has been shown to be a safe, effective and cost-effective strategy for reducing the disease burden and saving lives.

WHO recently published recommendations on new types of insecticide-treated nets (March 2023) and on the treatment of malaria cases (November 2022).

According to WHO’s World malaria report 2022, the funding gap between the amount invested in the global malaria response (US$ 3.5 billion) and the resources needed (US$ 7.3 billion) has widened, particularly over the past 3 years – increasing from a shortfall of US$ 2.6 billion in 2019 to US$ 3.5 billion in 2020 and US$ 3.8 billion in 2021.

Despite the significant contributions of countries and partners, the Seventh Global Fund replenishment raised US$ 15.7 billion against an expected target of at least US$ 18 billion. With the changing economic environment, the funding space for the malaria response has become increasingly challenging.

In this resource-constrained environment, a better targeting of available funding is essential. Funding should be prioritized for the most vulnerable populations who are less able to access services and hardest hit when they become ill. Adequate and predictable financing is essential to sustain progress in efforts to combat malaria.

Malaria Vaccine: 100 साल बाद WHO ने पहली मलेरिया वैक्सीन को दी मंजूरी, इस महाद्वीप को मिलेगा सबसे बड़ा फायदा

100 साल से ज्यादा समय का इंतजार उस वक्त खत्म हो गया है, जब विश्व स्वास्थ्य संगठन ने मलेरिया की पहली वैक्सीन के व्यापक इस्तेमाल को मंजूरी दे दी. 1880 में Alphonse Laveran ने पहली बार मलेरिया पैरासाइट की खोज की थी और तभी से इसकी वैक्सीन की खोज शुरू हो चुकी थी. डब्ल्यूएचओ ने RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) मलेरिया वैक्सीन के इस्तेमाल की सिफारिश की है, जिसका निर्माण GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) ने किया है. इस मलेरिया…