06 July 2010
Mariam lives in Dawakin Tofa, a village in Kano State, Nigeria, with her four children and six grandchildren. For Mariam and her family, Malaria is a constant worry. They have no practical protection from the mosquitoes that carry the disease and so every night they risk being bitten and infected. But, thanks to a programme funded by UKaid from the Department for International Development, this is about to change.
The burden of malaria on Africa is huge. One in six child deaths in Africa is due to malaria and as much as 40% of health care spending in the worst-affected countries goes on treating the disease, costing the continent $12 billion per year.
Although malaria remains a leading cause of illness and death in Africa, a range of prevention and treatment measures are reducing the number of deaths from the disease each year.
Watch the short film below to see how DFID is supporting a national programme in Nigeria to tackle malaria and how this is saving lives – including those of Mariam and her family:
DFID is also helping to tackle the disease in many other countries in Africa.
In Kenya, for example, UKaid has delivered 16.3 million insecticide-treated bed nets since 2002 and supported the rollout of new malaria treatment. These measures have helped to reduce under-five mortality by an estimated 44% in high-risk malaria districts.
In Tanzania, UKaid has funded a ‘hang up’ campaign, teaching people how to hang bed nets correctly and encouraging people to sleep under them. Malaria prevalence and deaths in Tanzania have roughly halved over the past decade, putting the country on track to meet the sixth Millennium Development Goal.
And DFID’s support to Zambia’s health sector contributed to a 60% reduction in deaths from malaria between 2001-2008.
UKaid is also being invested in research to develop new treatments for malaria. With our support, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative has developed two new malaria drugs, one of which is now being used in 25 African countries.
And 44 million treatments of a new child-friendly malaria drug, developed by the Medicines for Malaria Venture with the support of UKaid, have been distributed in 23 African countries to date.
On World Malaria Day 2010, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership reported that nearly a million lives had been saved since 2000, most since 2006 when efforts to combat malaria in Africa were accelerated.
But malaria remains a leading cause of child mortality, and more needs to be done to control the disease, particularly in high burden countries such as Nigeria. Ensuring more children receive antimalarial drugs and more women can access preventative treatment during pregnancy is critical to efforts to control the disease in Africa.
Malaria consultation: help us shape the UK government's policy and plans for tackling malaria in the developing world
Key Facts:
- 90% of deaths from malaria each year occur in Africa, the vast majority (85%) among children under five. (World Malaria Report 2009, WHO, Geneva)
- A survey in 2007/08 showed that, at any one point in time, 18% of children under five in Tanzania had the malaria parasite in their bodies. (Tanzania HIV and Malaria Indicators Survey 2007/08, National Bureau of Statistics)
- An estimated 908,000 deaths have been averted in Africa since 2000, due to an increase in the number of people sleeping under an insecticide-treated bed net. (Roll Back Malaria: Progress and Impact series report, April 2010)
- More than 150 million Nigerians – the entire population of the country – live in areas of intense malaria transmission. An estimated one in five child deaths is due to malaria, which accounts for more than 200,000 deaths among Nigerian children under five every year. (Roll Back Malaria: Progress and Impact series report, April 2010)
- 7 million Nigerian households received 14 million insecticide treated bed nets in 2009. Two million of these nets were provided by DFID. (DFID Annual Report 2010)
- By the end of 2011, six million bed nets will have been distributed in southern Sudan with the support of UKaid – at least one per household. (DFID Annual Report 2010)