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Malaria deaths rise by 69,000 in 2020 due to COVID-19 disruptions, says WHO

Ivory Coast Abidjan anti malaria injection

Dakar, Senegal Reuters Healthcare disruptions linked to the coronavirus pandemic helped malaria kill 69,000 more people in 2020 than the previous year, but a worst-case scenario was averted, the World Health Organization said on Monday. In total over 627,000 people globally – most of them babies in the poorest parts of Africa – were killed […]

WHO backs malaria vaccine rollout for Africa’s children in major breakthrough

South Sudan malaria

Nairobi, KenyaReuters The World Health Organization said on Wednesday the only approved vaccine against malaria should be widely given to African children, potentially marking a major advance against a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people annually.  The WHO recommendation is for RTS,S – or Mosquirix – a vaccine developed by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline. […]

How COVID-19 may result in one million excess deaths from other diseases in Africa

Coronavirus Burkina Faso temperature check

Nairobi, KenyaThomson Reuters Foundation Africa’s 1.3 billion people may have fared better than expected in terms of containing COVID-19 but the pandemic has dealt a severe blow to already weak health services, raising fears of excess deaths from other illnesses plaguing the continent. A World Health Organization analysis of 14 African countries found a more […]

Scientists map out mosquito immune system to help fight malaria

Mosquito nets South Sudanese refugees

London, UKReuters Scientists have created the first full map of mosquito immune cells and found a new type of cell that could have a role in how mosquitos are able to fight off malaria. The findings, published in the journal Science, could help scientists uncover new ways of preventing mosquitos from spreading the malaria parasite […]

Malaria fight stalling at “unacceptably high level” of deaths – WHO

London, UKReuters Malaria still infects millions of people every year and kills more than 400,000 – mostly children in Africa – because the fight against the mosquito-borne disease has stalled, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday. Funding for the global battle against malaria – which kills a child every two minutes – is broadly […]

WHO says eradicating malaria “can be done”, but first aim is to control it

Malaria Thailand

LondonReuters Eradicating malaria is biologically feasible and a lofty aim, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but the focus for now should be getting the funds, tools and political will to control it. Launching the findings of a three-year long analysis of the global fight against malaria, WHO experts said that while ending the […]