“Accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable world”

This is the theme for this year’s World Malaria Day, in the hopes that all sectors of society could work together to make the cure for the disease more accessible.

While the disease is preventable and curable, an African child dies every 60 seconds because of the mosquito-borne infection. According to an estimate by the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 600 000 people died of malaria. 80% of those deaths, it says, were children on the African continent.

Non-profit organisation, Goodbye Malaria, says more than 7800 cases of malaria were reported in South Africa last year. Most of which, came from the Limpopo province, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.

Without the appropriate prevention, Goodbye Malaria CEO, Sherwin Charles, says nearly five million people in Limpopo, Kwa-Zulu Natal and Mpumalanga could be at risk of getting the disease, if there is an outbreak.

“Malaria nets alone will not prevent all infections because mosquitoes can bite people before they are under one. Medications also aren’t perfect because more drug resistant kinds of malaria are emerging and they just don’t respond to treatment.”

Charles suggests that vaccination against the disease in childhood may improve efforts to combat the disease. But he says in order for this to happen, more collaboration across government, business, and non-profit sectors is needed.

“You can’t work in silos to solve this problem… By investing in prevention and elimination we are investing in healthier and more prosperous societies.”

Malaria in South Africa

The NICD says after Limpopo, Gauteng recorded the highest number of cases in the country between September 2022 and August 2023. It also noted Kwa-Zulu Natal had the lowest number of cases. However, cases in the latter two provinces mostly stem from “imported malaria”, it says.

“Peaks in malaria notifications typically follow periods of increased national and international travel to malaria-endemic regions. Economically-active young males, especially those aged between 20 and 39 years.”