The World Health Organisation (WHO) released its World Malaria Report 2021 on December 6, 2021.

Key Points

• In the report, the WHO notes that ‘Global efforts to tackle malaria suffered because of novel coronavirus disease in 2020.
• Report further warned that, if proper action is not taken, the world will witness the danger of seeing an immediate resurgence of Malaria, particularly in Africa.

Deaths due to Malaria

• In 2020, there were an estimated 627,000 malaria deaths. The number of deaths increase by 12 per cent as compared to 2019.
• Around 47,000 (accounting for 68%) of the additional 69000 deaths were linked to disruptions in provision of malaria diagnosis, treatment and prevention amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 241 million malaria cases were reported in 85 malaria-endemic countries in 2020. This figure increased from 227 million in 2019.
• Most of the increase in number of cases were reported from countries in the WHO African Region.

By: Brijesh Kumar