In what could be termed as a big achievement for the medical science, the World Health Organization (WHO) report on Tuesday showed a dramatic decline in the number of malaria deaths since 2000, while new cases witnessed falling steadily due to more awareness and advancement in treatment process.
In its annual report on Malaria, the global health body said the malaria death rate dropped by 47 percent across the world between 2000 and 2013.
Africa, where nearly 90 percent of all cases of malaria deaths occur, witnessed a decline in death rate due to the disease by 54 percent between the said period.
“The next few years are going to be critical to show that we can maintain momentum and build on the gains,” said Pedro Alonso, director of the global malaria programme at the WHO.
In 2013, malaria alone claimed lives of around 584,000 people worldwide, including around 453,000 children under five.
Experts say fighting the deadly disease requires huge funding. Even if the funding to fight malaria has surged threefold since 2005, monitory support remains a big concern as around half the USD 5.1 billion is still needed to tackle the menace.
In a released statement, WHO director general Margaret Chan has said that the data reveals the fight against malaria could be easily won as “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.”
Based on current trends, 64 nations are moving on a right track to meet the target of reversing the malaria incidences by this year-end under the Millennium Development Goal.
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