Malaria prevention and treatment

MDG target: Have halted by 2015 and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases

International funding for malaria control increased more than tenfold over the past decade, leading to rapid scaling up of key interventions, notably the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs).

Malaria kills more than a million people each year. Around 80 per cent of these deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa among children under five. All African countries with trend data on the use of insecticide-treated nets have expanded coverage, and 16 of 20 countries have at least tripled coverage since 2000. But overall levels remain relatively low, and most countries are falling short of global malaria goals.

Some 34 per cent of children with fever in sub-Saharan Africa are treated with antimalarials, but many children are still using chloroquine, which is less effective. As a result, nearly all African countries have adopted the more effective artemisinin-based combination therapy as the first-line treatment.

SUB-SAHARAN COUNTRIES ARE MAKING RAPID PROGRESS IN SCALING UP THE USE OF INSECTICIDE-TREATED NETS

Percentage of children under five sleeping under insecticide-treated nets, all sub-Saharan countries where trend data were available (around 2000 and 2005)

AFRICAN COUNTRIES HAVE MOVED QUICKLY TO CHANGE DRUG POLICIES TO MORE EFFECTIVELY TREAT MALARIA

Country drug policy recommendations on first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria (January 2003 and April 2007)

GLOBAL PROCUREMENT OF MOSQUITO NETS IS RAPIDLY INCREASING

Total number (in millions) of insecticide-treated nets procured by UNICEF (2000-2006)

Note: Totals include both ITNs treated by the user and long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs); data since 2004 refl ect mostly LLINs. UNICEF is one of the largest procurers of ITNs in the world.

TREATMENT LEVELS ARE MODERATELY HIGH IN MANY AFRICAN COUNTRIES, THOUGH CHLOROQUINE IS STILL WIDELY USED

Percentage of febrile children under five receiving any antimalarial medicine and chloroquine (2000-2006)

Source for figures on this page: UNICEF global databases, 2007. Drug policy: UNICEF/WHO, Africa Malaria Report 2003, and WHO Global Malaria Programme 2007. ITN procurement: UNICEF Supply Division, 2007.