The World Health Organization said on Monday that medical care interruptions related to the coronavirus pandemic helped malaria cause 69,000 more deaths in 2020 than the previous year, but avoided the worst.

The World Health Organization stated in its annual malaria report that more than 627,000 people died of malaria last year, most of which were babies in the poorest areas of Africa, compared with 558,000 in 2019.

This number exceeds the 224,000 reported deaths from the coronavirus in Africa since the beginning of the pandemic.

According to the WHO, approximately two-thirds of new malaria deaths in 2020 are due to coronavirus restrictions that disrupt malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

However, despite the challenges, striving to maintain health services means that sub-Saharan Africa does not see the possibility of doubling the number of malaria deaths in 2020, which the World Health Organization has warned of.

On the contrary, according to WHO data, the number of deaths in the region has increased by 12% compared to 2019. “Thanks to urgent and painstaking efforts, we can claim that the world has successfully avoided the worst-case scenario of malaria deaths,” said Pedro Alonso, director of the World Health Organization’s Global Malaria Program.

Experts hope that after the World Health Organization recommended in October that RTS, S (or Mosquirix), a vaccine developed by the British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, should be widely used in African children, the fight against malaria may achieve significant results. progress.

RBM CEO Abdourahmane Diallo said: “By increasing funding, acquiring life-saving tools, and staying ahead in new tools to stay ahead of changing mosquitoes and parasites, we can accelerate change and end malaria within a generation. .” End the partnership of the malaria advocacy group.

“We are now at a critical juncture, and I urge global leaders to renew their commitments and investments,” he said in a statement.

News source : Hindustan times