Illustration: © Jenny Ridley (for The Guardian)
The title shows the main conclusion of the systematic analysis made by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and published on today's edition of The Lancet. The study (see link below) presents new concerning data about global malaria mortality, whose mortality has peaked around 2004. However, between 2004-2010, there has been a rapid decrease in malaria mortality, specially in Africa, much because of the scaling up of control activities supported by international donors.
Previous studies assumed that the disease mainly kills children under 5. However, IHME researchers found that more than 78,000 children aged 5 to 14 and more than 445,000 people aged 15 and older died from malaria in 2010, meaning that 42 percent of all malaria deaths were in people aged 5 and older. This is an important methodological aspect beyond this new study, because some deaths from malaria have been missed by previous studies.
The study shows that global malaria deaths increased from 995,000 in 1980 to a peak of 1,817,000 in 2004. In 2010, malaria deaths decreased to 1,238,000. In Africa, deaths increased from 493,000 in 1980 to 1,613,000 in 2004, decreasing by about 30 percent to 1,133,000 in 2010. Outside Africa, malaria deaths have decreased from 502,000 in 1980 to 104,000 in 2010. IHME authors of the study estimated more deaths in individuals aged 5 years or older than has been estimated in previous studies: 435,000 deaths in Africa and 89,000 deaths outside of Africa in 2010.
The authors believe that since malaria became one of the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (Goal 6), there has been a growing tide of efforts that have led to a major scale up insecticide-treated bed nets and artemisinin-combination treatments (ACTs). Overall funding for malaria efforts grew from less than 0.25 billion USD annually in 2001 to more than 2 billion USD in 2009, according to IHME’s latest estimates. However, it is important to have in mind that those achievements could be reversed if the world economic climate doesn't change. Let's not forget that last December, IHME reported that growth in development assistance for health slowed greatly between 2009 and 2011. Also the announcement by the Global Fund in November 2011 that it would cancel its next round of funding make the researchers fear for the future of malaria programmes.
Read more: Global malaria mortality between 1980 and 2010: a systematic analysis
Read more: Malaria kills nearly twice as many people than previously thought, but deaths are declining rapidly
Previous studies assumed that the disease mainly kills children under 5. However, IHME researchers found that more than 78,000 children aged 5 to 14 and more than 445,000 people aged 15 and older died from malaria in 2010, meaning that 42 percent of all malaria deaths were in people aged 5 and older. This is an important methodological aspect beyond this new study, because some deaths from malaria have been missed by previous studies.
The study shows that global malaria deaths increased from 995,000 in 1980 to a peak of 1,817,000 in 2004. In 2010, malaria deaths decreased to 1,238,000. In Africa, deaths increased from 493,000 in 1980 to 1,613,000 in 2004, decreasing by about 30 percent to 1,133,000 in 2010. Outside Africa, malaria deaths have decreased from 502,000 in 1980 to 104,000 in 2010. IHME authors of the study estimated more deaths in individuals aged 5 years or older than has been estimated in previous studies: 435,000 deaths in Africa and 89,000 deaths outside of Africa in 2010.
The authors believe that since malaria became one of the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (Goal 6), there has been a growing tide of efforts that have led to a major scale up insecticide-treated bed nets and artemisinin-combination treatments (ACTs). Overall funding for malaria efforts grew from less than 0.25 billion USD annually in 2001 to more than 2 billion USD in 2009, according to IHME’s latest estimates. However, it is important to have in mind that those achievements could be reversed if the world economic climate doesn't change. Let's not forget that last December, IHME reported that growth in development assistance for health slowed greatly between 2009 and 2011. Also the announcement by the Global Fund in November 2011 that it would cancel its next round of funding make the researchers fear for the future of malaria programmes.
Read more: Global malaria mortality between 1980 and 2010: a systematic analysis
Read more: Malaria kills nearly twice as many people than previously thought, but deaths are declining rapidly
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