UN: World Achieves Millennium Development Target on Reducing Malaria

United Nations (PNA/Xinhua) — With just six weeks left before the deadline of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the sixth goal — reducing the malaria burden — has been achieved, a UN spokesman said here Thursday.

“Due to collective efforts and increased financing, the world has surpassed this Goal’s targets to halt and reverse malaria incidence, with more than 6.2 million malaria deaths averted since the year 2000,” Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.

“Today, more than 100 countries are free of malaria and at least 55 countries are on track to reduce malaria case incidence by 75 percent by the end of this year,” the spokesman said.

The MDGs is a set of eight universally-agreed goals adopted in 2000 to rid the world of extreme poverty and disease by 2015.

Global leaders, diplomats and health experts were gathering at the UN in New York on Thursday to celebrate the progress made against one of the world’s leading killers: malaria.

“The world’s success in rolling back malaria shows just what can be achieved with the right kind of determination and partnerships,” said Mogens Lykketoft, the president of 70th session of the UN General Assembly.

“It provides bold inspiration to all nations that seek to create a healthy environment for their children and adults. We can and we must eliminate malaria by 2030,” the president said, noting that this will require full implementation of the new strategy developed by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and the World Health Organization (WHO).

“In it, we have the path forward — I urge all member states to fully support implementation of this strategic plan,” Lykketoft said.

In Africa alone, where some 90 percent of all malaria-related deaths still occur, an estimated 69 percent reduction in malaria mortality among children under the age of five over the past 15 years has reportedly helped to improve overall child survival rates.

For the first time in history, fewer people than ever are getting infected with malaria in Africa, and many countries around the world are focusing on elimination targets, with new regional commitments announced in the Americas, Eastern Mediterranean, Asia Pacific, and Africa.

“Today, we celebrate major advances in our fight against malaria,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message.

“With stronger coordination by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership and increased financing, global mortality rates have decreased by more than half since 2000, and the global MDG target for malaria has been achieved,” he said.

Despite unprecedented advancements, the WHO estimates approximately 214 million cases of malaria infection in 2015, claiming the lives of approximately 472,000 people, the majority of them African children under five years of age.

With more than half of the world’s population at risk of malaria infection, the health agency warned that malaria remains a major cause and consequence of poverty and inequity worldwide, impeding economic development, undermining food security, stopping children from going to school, and absorbing the capacity of national systems to respond effectively to health security threats.

Meanwhile, lives saved from effective malaria interventions have been linked to a 20 percent reduction in all-cause child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa since 2000, while efforts to prevent malaria in pregnancy have averted nearly 95,000 newborn deaths between 2009 and 2012.

As the world transitions to a new set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by world leaders here in September, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership is also urging continued commitment to achieve malaria elimination by 2030 and help advance broader development efforts across sectors.

“Under the MDGs, we have seen what can be achieved when we join our efforts and come together in a coordinated fashion,” said Herve Verhoosel, representative of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership Secretariat in New York.

“As we set our sights on elimination, we stand to avert nearly 3 billion cases of infection and generate some 4 trillion (U.S.) dollars in additional economic output over the next 15 years,” he said.

“But we must ensure political commitment and predictable financial resources necessary to carry us over the finish line,” he added. (PNA/Xinhua) JBP/MEC