No one should die of malaria in Africa because malaria is preventable and treatable, Akpaka Kalu of the World Health Organisation, African Region (WHO-Afro), said on Thursday.

Mr Kalu stated this as the world marks 2024 World Malaria Day. He said the number of deaths from malaria every year in Africa was an indictment of our health systems and leadership.

“No one should die from malaria in Africa; indeed, every single malaria death is a death too many because malaria is preventable and treatable. The death of many people – children and pregnant women from malaria every year in Africa is an indictment of our health systems and leadership.

“It shows failure to tackle malaria effectively and sustenance efforts and progress made at its elimination,’’ Mr Kalu explained.

Malaria is an acute febrile illness caused by Plasmodium parasites, which are spread to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. He also said though some progress had been made in the fight against the malaria scourge, there were also some challenges.

“We made progress between 2000 and 2015, and since 2015, the progress has stagnated for various reasons. In the last two years, it seems like we’re facing reversals in the gains that we’ve already made, and the reasons are many,” he stated.

He said the declining coverage of preventive interventions was one of the core challenges.

“Interventions like bed nets, indoor spraying, and other preventive technologies include preventive chemotherapy and giving medicines to people in certain geographical areas to prevent bouts of malaria,” Mr Kalu said.

(NAN)