Malaria continues to have a significant impact on half of the world’s population who live in tropical regions. It claims 600,000 lives each year, the majority of whom are children under 5-years of age. Over the last century, scientific advances have managed to bring the death toll down from its historic annual peak of around five million fatalities, but even with today’s vaccines, mosquito nets, and indoor residual pesticide spraying programmes, we have not yet eradicated the disease’s threat.
Some would go further and express concerns that we are losing momentum. As Peter Sands, Executive Director of the Global Fund puts it: “More than ever, we are at risk of losing our fight against this disease. Progress has ground to a halt, and in some places is reversing. Unless we act now, malaria could resurge dramatically.”
Malaria is caused by a parasite, transmitted to the human bloodstream through the bites of infected mosquitoes. Once the parasite is inside the body, it multiplies, attacking red blood cells. This causes symptoms like chills, flu-like symptoms, extreme exhaustion, and more. Without treatment, the effects of malaria can become severe and even fatal, especially for children and pregnant women. Severe malaria can even cause permanent brain damage to unborn children.
The Relationship Between Malaria and Economic Development
It is undeniable that the prevalence of malaria in modern day is linked to inequities in access to health innovation. There is a direct correlation between health access and economic development. While the efforts to prevent and manage malaria have significantly lowered the disease’s impact in numerous nations in recent years, such as India, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam, more detailed evaluations of health outcomes reveal that poor and vulnerable populations miss out on the benefits of these malaria control initiatives.
An estimated 58% of malaria deaths occur among the poorest 20% of the world’s population.2 This staggering figure results from numerous contributing factors: inadequate housing and overcrowding without use of mosquito preventatives, poorly paid farming occupations, nearby mosquito-filled forests, malnutrition that limits the body’s ability to fight malaria, and lack of access to preventative agents. Note that in many of these contexts, infrastructure related to economic development impacts the lifestyle of communities which increases the risk of contracting malaria and vector borne diseases in general.
Malaria control relies heavily on prevention, with prompt treatment being the most crucial method to avoiding malaria-related deaths. However, when the poorest, most vulnerable in society lack access to preventative measures or quality treatment, the disease is free to spread.