To commemorate this year's World Malaria Day (25 April), the World Health Organization (WHO) is launching a manual to help
countries to assess the technical, operational and financial
feasibility of moving towards malaria elimination.
In a statement, WHO said its new guide, "From malaria control to malaria elimination:
a manual for elimination scenario planning", will provide these
countries with a comprehensive framework to assess different scenarios
and timelines for moving towards elimination, depending on programme
coverage and funding availability.
“Increased political commitment and the expansion of global
malaria investments have saved some 3.3 million lives since 2000,” says
Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General at WHO. ”Countries where malaria
remains endemic now want to build on this success.”
Since 2000, there has been a 42% reduction in malaria
mortality rates globally, and a 49% decline in the WHO African Region.
This progress has led some malaria-endemic countries, even those with
historically high burdens of malaria, to start exploring the possibility
of elimination.
But although many countries have the political will to commit
to elimination, technical, operational and financial obstacles remain,
particularly in countries that have a high disease burden.
The WHO manual will help countries assess what resources they
need to reduce malaria transmission to very low levels, i.e. the point
at which focused elimination programmes can start in earnest. It will
also help them consider appropriate timelines and provide them with
essential knowledge for long-term strategic planning for malaria
programmes.
“This long-term view on malaria is critical: it is vital to
plan for the period after elimination,” says Dr John Reeder, Director of
WHO’s Global Malaria Programme. “If interventions are eased or
abandoned, malaria transmission can re-establish relatively quickly in
areas that are prone to the disease, leading to a resurgence in
infections and deaths.”
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