Malaria kills more than Covid-19 – Matin Libre

According to the World Health Organization, deaths from malaria will far exceed those caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Disrupting treatment for malaria caused by the coronavirus pandemic could lead to tens of thousands of malaria deaths. “WHO fears that even moderate disruptions in access to care can lead to significant loss of life. In the most optimistic scenarios, a 10% cut in access to effective antimalarial treatment in sub-Saharan Africa could lead to an additional 19,000 deaths. If access to treatment decreases by 15%, an additional 28,000 deaths are expected. 25% and 50% outages in the region could result in an additional 46,000 and 100,000 deaths, respectively. Gaps in access to vital tools are undermining global efforts to curb the disease and the pandemic should further slow the fight, ”reports the organization. During a press conference, Pedro Alsonso, Director of the Malaria Control Program at WHO said that “depending on the level of disruption of services (due to Covid-19), there could be an excess malaria deaths from order of 20,000 to 100,000 in sub-Saharan Africa, most of them in young children. Despite the devastating impact of Covid-19 on African economies, international partners and countries must therefore do more to ensure that the necessary resources are available to develop the anti-malaria programs that are making a difference in people’s lives. “It is time for leaders across Africa – and the rest of the world – to take action once again to address the challenge of malaria. Acting together and by pledging to leave no one behind, we can achieve our common goal of eradicating malaria around the world, “said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

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