Representatives from eleven African nations heavily impacted by malaria will gather in Yaounde tomorrow, March 6, 2024, to discuss strategies for curbing the disease’s deadly toll.
The focus of the conference is on strengthening “political and financial commitments for accelerated malaria responses” in these countries, aiming to achieve the ambitious goals set by the Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2030 (GTS 2030).
This strategy aims to eliminate malaria deaths in Africa entirely by targeting the nations most burdened by the disease.
Health ministers and other high-ranking government officials from the participating countries will be present at the conference. Discussions will centre around various crucial topics, including:
- Contributing to sustainable development in Africa, particularly regarding malaria response.
- Reducing malaria deaths to zero through scientific advancements and accelerated response efforts.
- Strategies for burden reduction in Africa.
- Increasing both domestic and international funding for malaria control programmes.
The participating nations include:
- Burkina Faso
- Cameroon
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Ghana
- Mali
- Mozambique
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Sudan
- Uganda
- United Republic of Tanzania
This gathering comes shortly after Cameroon became the first nation globally to roll out the RTS,S malaria vaccine, following successful clinical trials in Kenya, Ghana, and Malawi.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) acknowledges the significant progress made in reducing the global malaria burden during the first two decades of the 21st century. However, they also highlight that progress has stagnated since 2017.
In 2022, approximately 166 million malaria cases and 423000 malaria deaths occurred in the countries that are attending the conference in Yaounde.
According to the WHO, current investment levels and the reach of existing malaria interventions are insufficient to achieve the GTS 2025 milestones, which aim for a 75% reduction in both malaria mortality and case incidence by 2025.
Despite these challenges, the WHO remains optimistic. They believe that with proper utilisation of available resources and tools, African nations can still achieve a dramatic reduction or even elimination of malaria deaths.
