KICK MALARIA OUT (KMO) 2009
 
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142days since
Kick Malaria Out (KMO) 2009 Campaign

Impact of Malaria

  • 3,000 children under the age of five die each day from malaria in Africa
  • Each year approximate 515 million cases of malaria occur worldwide, and over one million people die, most of them young children in Sub-Saharan Africa
  • An estimated 1 million people die of malaria – over 2700 deaths per day, or 2 deaths per minute, in Sub-Saharan Africa
  • 1-5% of GDP in Africa covers costs of malaria control and lost labour days
  • Africa would have been an estimated US $100 billion better off in 2000 if malaria had been eliminated years ago
 
About 90% of all malaria deaths in the world today occur in Africa south of the Sahara. This is because the majority of infections in Africa are caused by Plasmodium falciparum, the most dangerous of the four human malaria parasites. It is also because the most effective malaria vector - the mosquito Anopheles gambiae - is the most widespread in Africa and the most difficult to control. An estimated one million people in Africa die from malaria each year and most of these are children under 5 years old.
 
There are three principal ways in which malaria can contribute to death in young children:

  1. An overwhelming acute infection, which frequently presents as seizures or coma (cerebral malaria), may kill a child directly and quickly
  2. Repeated malaria infections contribute to the development of severe anaemia, which substantially increases the risk of death
  3. Low birth weight - frequently the consequence of malaria infection in pregnant women - is the major risk factor for death in the first month of life

In addition, repeated malaria infections make young children more susceptible to other common childhood illnesses, such as diarrhea and respiratory infections, and thus contribute indirectly to mortality.The consensus view of recent studies and reviews is that malaria causes at least 20% of all deaths in children under 5 years of age in Africa.

Children who survive malaria may suffer long-term consequences of the infection. Repeated episodes of fever and illness reduce appetite and restrict play, social interaction, and educational opportunities, thereby contributing to poor development. An estimated 2% of children who recover from malaria infections affecting the brain (cerebral malaria) suffer from learning impairments and disabilities due to brain damage, including epilepsy and spasticity.

Malaria affects the lives of almost all people living in the area of Africa defined by the southern fringes of the Sahara Desert in the north, and a latitude of about 28° in the south.