ABOUT THE MALARIA PROGRESS REPORT👇
The report provides an update on the status of malaria on the African continent. It highlights activities undertaken, challenges faced, best practices learned by AU Member States and their partners to sustain malaria services and accelerate progress towards the goal of eliminating malaria in Africa by 2030. This report also provides updates on requests and calls to action made by the African Union Assembly.
MALARIA PROGRESS REPORT 2021 - SUMMARY
STATUS OF MALARIA CONTROL & ELIMINATION
- The African Continent is not on track to eliminate malaria by 2030. Africa did not achieve its target of reducing malaria incidence and mortality by 40% by 2020 (6 Member States did achieve at least one of the targets).
- There were an estimated 232 million malaria cases (96% of global total) and 611,802 malaria deaths (98% of global total) in Africa in 2020, an increase of 68,953 malaria deaths compared to 2019 (49,000 of these deaths were attributed to disruptions to malaria programmes and broader health services caused by the COVID-19 pandemic).
- According to revised WHO estimates, the number of malaria deaths is significantly higher than previously understood (e.g., 693,617 additional malaria deaths since 2015), increasing the urgency of controlling and eliminating malaria.
- About 63% of activities in national malaria strategic plans are currently unfunded and there is a need for increased resources and advocacy (especially with the upcoming replenishment of the Global Fund).
DIGITALISATION AND SCORECARDS FOR ACCOUNTABILITY & ACTION
- Member States have implemented 40 national and subnational malaria scorecards, 29 RMNCAH scorecards, 8 NTDs scorecards, and 3 nutrition scorecards and 5 Member States have implemented or are implementing community-level scorecards to drive accountability and action and the use of real-time data for effective programme management.
- 13 Member States have published national scorecards via the ALMA Scorecard Hub.
- National malaria data repositories are being implemented to enhance data quality and timeliness.
MULTISECTORAL ADVOCACY, ACTION & RESOURCE MOBILIZATION
- 23 countries have launched national “Zero Malaria Starts with Me!” campaigns, including the DRC, Malawi, Mali, and Namibia which launched in 2021.
- 15 countries have launched or announced End Malaria Councils & Funds (EMCs) and an additional 10 are in the planning process. EMCs have successfully mobilised multisectoral advocacy, action, and millions of USD to support national malaria programmes.
- At the direction of H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta, ALMA launched a continental Malaria Youth Strategy, and the Republic of Kenya launched the first “Youth Army” to mobilise young leaders to champion the fight against malaria.
REGIONAL AND CROSS BORDER COORINDATION
- The Regional Economic Communities (RECs) are implementing regional scorecards and action plans, including the Great Lakes malaria initiative which launched in 2021 (EAC).
- Sub-regional initiatives (e.g., Sahel, MOSASWA) continue to support critical cross-border coordination and collaboration.
ACCESS TO LIFE-SAVING COMMODITIES
- Whilst Member States have taken proactive action to mitigate supply chain bottlenecks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, disruptions remain a threat to the ability of Member States to sustain malaria interventions and broader health services.
- Increasing insecticide and drug resistance is a major threat to the effectiveness of the life-saving tools used to prevent and treat malaria, suggesting a need to scale up the deployment of next generation commodities.
- The approval of the first malaria vaccine means that countries have an additional tool to help combat malaria in combination with existing interventions (e.g., IRS, ITN, SMC).
- The higher cost of new tools will require both additional resources and enhanced data to support better targeting and allocation of these commodities.
HASHTAGS
#AUMalariaReport2021 #ZeroMalariaStartsWithMe #EndMalaria #ZeroMalaria
SUGGESTED POSTS FOR TWITTER
ABOUT THE REPORT
H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta of @StateHouseKenya has today presented the #AUMalariaReport2021 before Heads of State at the @_AfricanUnion Summit. The report highlights Africa's progress towards the control and elimination of malaria.
Digitalisation and scorecards for accountability for action
The #2021WorldMalariaReport revealed that Africa is off target in reducing deaths and cases from malaria. But AU member states showed great progress in using data-driven #malaria scorecard tools in efforts to control and eliminate malaria. #AUMalariaReport2021
COVID-19 Disruptions
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa has shown resilience and commitment towards malaria programmes by maintaining critical services and planned interventions that include distribution of Insecticide-Treated Nets and Indoor Residual Spraying.#AUMalariaReport2021
Despite Africa's efforts, COVID has strained many economies, threatening the availability of malaria resources. To minimize the risk of malaria resurgence, sustained funding and increased global support remain vital until there is broader economic recovery. #AUMalariaReport2021
Maintaining core malaria prevention and treatment services is critical to national #COVID19 management efforts. Optimising such efforts helps reduce the strain of the pandemic on medical resources. African leaders must therefore strive to sustain vector control interventions.
Multisectoral advocacy, action & resource mobilisation
Did you Know? The Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republics of Malawi, Mali, and Namibia are the newest state members of the pan-African “Zero Malaria Starts with Me!” campaign. Only through unified commitment can Africa eliminate #malaria by 2030.#AUMalariaReport2021
A malaria-free Africa is only possible if countries take ownership and lead the fight .15 countries have stepped up, establishing domestic mechanisms to drive resource mobilisation & multi-sectoral advocacy to support national malaria programmes. #AUMalariaReport2021
Malaria Youth Armies
Today's youth are part of the generation that can #endmalaria. In 2021, youth across Africa organised themselves into a continental army of close to 3,000 advocates against this deadly disease to create a safer world for everyone.#AUMalariaReport2021
Regional and cross-border coordination
Malaria knows no boundaries. Cross-border collaboration is one way for Africa to quicken progress toward #ZeroMalaria. In 2021, @SADC_News, @ecowas_cedeao, and @jumuiya rolled out initiatives to support sub-regional efforts to control and eliminate malaria. #AUMalariaReport2021
Access to life-saving commodities
Increasingly, African countries are experiencing insecticide and drug resistance as a major threat to the control and elimination of malaria. To preserve gains & sustain progress it is essential to scale up the deployment of next-generation commodities. #AUMalariaReport2021
Global Fund Replenishment
The #AUMalariaReport2021 shows that despite Africa’s commitment to malaria control & elimination, the burden of the disease remains heavy. As @GlobalFund's 7th Replenishment approaches, the global community & leaders must commit to continued & more funding to accelerate progress.
SUGGESTED POSTS FOR FACEBOOK & LINKEDIN
About The Report
H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta of the Republic of Kenya has today presented the #AUMalariaReport2021 before Heads of State at the @_AfricanUnion Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The report highlights the progress, challenges, and future directions to keep malaria high on AU Member States priorities in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Digitalisation and scorecards for accountability for action
The World Health Organisation’s #WorldMalariaReport released in 2021 showed that Africa did not achieve its target of reducing malaria incidence and mortality by 40% by 2020.
Despite this, the #AUMalariaReport2021 shows that AU member states in 2021 made great progress in using the ALMA malaria scorecard tools for accountability and action in efforts to control and eliminate malaria.
Using the malaria scorecard tool, African countries kept a close watch on progress across key malaria indicators such as financing, coverage of essential health services, stock-outs, and campaigns. This allowed for real-time actions to mitigate identified gaps and challenges.
COVID-19 Disruptions
Since COVID-19 began, health services have been affected, resulting in disruption of broader health services and malaria programmes. @WHO’s latest malaria report indicates that part of the consequence has been an increase in malaria deaths in Africa by 68,953 compared to 2019. Of these, two-thirds (47,000) are attributed to COVID-19.
Despite these challenges, the #AUMalariaReport2021 notes and commends the efforts of African states to sustain planned malaria interventions such as distribution of Insecticide-Treated Nets, Indoor Residual Spraying, and seasonal chemotherapy prevention.
Such commitment is key to preventing a rollback on the progress made towards the control and elimination of malaria in Africa. Additionally, it is critical to national COVID-19 management efforts, as it helps to manage the strain on medical resources and facilities brought on by the excesses of the pandemic.
Continued and increased funding and global partner support for malaria programmes remain key pillars in this endeavor as malaria-endemic countries across Africa work to rebuild their economies in a COVID world.
Multisectoral advocacy, action & resource mobilisation
In 2021, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republics of Malawi, Mali, and Namibia became the newest members of the Pan-African “Zero Malaria Starts with Me” - #ZMSWM- campaign. As a result, 23 AU member states have to date rolled out national #ZSMWM campaigns.
#ZMSWM calls for cross-sectoral stakeholders to champion the fight against malaria by ensuring it remains high on the national agenda, engaging communities to act, and mobilising domestic resources to support national malaria programmes.
Through unified commitment and action across all African states, we can indeed make significant leaps towards a malaria-free Africa by 2030. #AUMalariaReport2021
Malaria Youth Armies
Malaria is one of the leading causes of death in Africa. Hence, ground-breaking innovation and solutions are critical to making progress towards the elimination of the disease. Youth are critical to this fight and possess the power to achieve this within their generation. As the #AUMalariaReport2021 shows, youth across Africa in 2021 took up their place in the fight against malaria, with close to 3,000 of them joining the continental ALMA Malaria Youth Army.
Regional and cross-border coordination
With Malaria imposing a heavy burden across all African states, cross-border collaboration amongst Heads of State and government to coordinate campaigns, share data and implement best practices and initiatives to eliminate malaria is important.
The #AUMalariaReport2021 shows such collaboration across the East African Community, Southern African Development Community, and Economic Community of West African States. This includes cross-border initiatives in the Republics of South Africa, Mozambique, Senegal, and the Gambia, amongst many other African states.
Access to life-saving commodities
Besides COVID-19, Africa faces other significant threats to its ambition to end malaria in the continent by 2030. This is seen in the increasing incidence of insecticide and anti-malarial drug resistance. To preserve gains and sustain progress towards the elimination of malaria, it is essential to scale up the deployment of next-generation commodities. Commitment to additional resource mobilisation and investment in modern technologies by global development partners and African states are necessary to facilitate this. #AUMalariaReport2021
Global Fund Replenishment
As the #AUMalariaReport2021 shows, Africa continues to carry a heavy malaria burden despite its efforts to continually implement malaria-related interventions amidst the complications of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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