World Malaria Day 2021: Reaching the zero malaria target

25th April is celebrated as World Malaria Day. The World Malaria Day is an occasion to highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment for malaria prevention and control. World Malaria Day was instituted by WHO Member States during the World Health Assembly of 2007.

World Malaria Day 2021

This year, WHO and partners will mark World Malaria Day by celebrating the achievements of countries that are approaching – and achieving – malaria elimination.

They provide inspiration for all nations that are working to stamp out this deadly disease and improve the health and livelihoods of their populations.

Key messages

• ACCELERATING WITH URGENCY: In the face of COVID, we must do more to protect everyone at risk of malaria. We can’t focus on beating COVID at the expense of accelerating progress against malaria, a preventable and treatable disease.
• REALIZING SUCCESS IN ELIMINATION: Malaria elimination is possible and critical to fighting current and future diseases.
• SECURING GLOBAL HEALTH: Ending endemic diseases like malaria is the pathway to beating pandemics like COVID. Further investments in ending malaria reduces the burden on health systems and increases capacity to prevent, detect and respond to pandemics.
• ENGAGING YOUTH: Today’s youth are the generation that will end malaria.

Call to action

This World Malaria Day, we must protect and accelerate gains against malaria and leverage malaria investments to fight COVID and emerging disease by:

• Surging investments in malaria programmes and building on the effective community health systems established for the malaria fight.
• Continuing to invest in collaboration and innovations including in real-time data and scaling up delivery of proven interventions and the research & development of new interventions that help us stay ahead of the parasite and mosquito.
• Promoting and facilitating safe and timely treatment of fever and increasing PPE supply for health workers.
• Empowering the next generation to hold leaders accountable for stepped up action to end malaria, a preventable and treatable disease that steals futures and kills a child every two minutes.

Source of info: WHO & End Malaria.ORG

Related readings

• National Malaria Treatment Protocol 2019, Nepal – EDCD
• National Malaria Surveillance Guidelines 2019, Nepal
• Epidemiological Trend of Malaria in Nepal (2012/13-2017/18)
• El Salvador certified as malaria-free by WHO
• WHO Guidelines for Malaria (Consolidated Guidelines for Malaria)
• Malaria Risk Areas Micro-stratification 2020
• World Malaria Report 2020
• Tailoring malaria interventions in the COVID-19 response
• World Malaria Day 2020: “Zero malaria starts with me”
• WHO urges countries to ensure the continuity of malaria services in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic
• World Health Organization’s World malaria report 2019
• Malaria eradication within a generation: ambitious, achievable, and necessary
• Algeria and Argentina certified malaria-free by WHO
• Malaria vaccine pilot launched in Malawi
• Malaria Micro Stratification Report 2018
• The World Malaria Report 2018