Raising the bar to halt malaria

New evidence demonstrates that rapid, large-scale malaria control is possible. Zambia has been modeling the way with an aggressive national scale-up of proven interventions. Now results from a 2008 study show that the efforts are working, bringing health to families in Zambia and hope to communities throughout Africa, devastated by malaria for far too long.

The challenge

Mosquito nets, insecticide, and medication for preventing and treating malaria: these are among the simple things that could save the 3,000 African children a day who die from the disease.

The challenge for African nations is to marshal the financial and human resources and the political will to control malaria on a large scale. The Malaria Control and Evaluation Partnership in Africa (MACEPA) at PATH, the Government of Zambia, and other partners are working to meet the challenge—and setting the standard for getting comprehensive malaria control interventions to all African communities.

Malaria control is possible

Malaria strikes 500 million people a year and kills more than a million children younger than five, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. But it doesn’t have to take so many young and promising lives.

The mosquito that transmits the malaria parasite is active at night, and sleeping under an insecticide-treated mosquito net effectively protects both children and pregnant women, the two groups who are at most risk of severe sickness or death. Strategically spraying insecticide on the walls of homes where mosquito nets aren’t used can further keep mosquitoes at bay. Providing preventive medicine to pregnant women and promptly treating those who get malaria with the right medications can save many more lives.

A powerful partnership

Making proven malaria prevention and treatment methods available on a national scale to the people who need them most requires commitment, coordination, and leadership. Since 2006, MACEPA has partnered with the Government of Zambia—one of the poorest countries in Africa, where malaria causes about 20 percent of child deaths—to demonstrate that malaria can be controlled. Other partners in this effort include the Roll Back Malaria Partnership Secretariat; the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria; the US President’s Malaria Initiative; and the World Bank.

It’s working!

Zambia’s 2008 Malaria Indicator Survey has provided conclusive evidence that the country’s efforts are directly improving the health of the people—decreasing child malaria deaths by 30 percent and reducing the number of children infected with the malaria parasite by half!

In just a few years, Zambia has set the bar in malaria control, making rapid progress toward its goal of reducing malaria incidence by 75 percent by 2011:

• Since 2006, malaria parasite prevalence in children has been reduced by 50 percent.
• Two-thirds of Zambian households are now covered with at least one treated net or a recent indoor spraying.
• More than 4.5 million insecticide-treated nets were delivered to households in Zambia’s six most rural provinces.
• Zambia’s household spraying program was expanded and improved, reaching more than 500,000 homes in urban and peri-urban areas and exceeding its goal of 85 percent coverage.
• More pregnant women than ever before are protected from malaria: more than 80 percent of pregnant women received at least one dose of preventive medicine, and more than 60 percent received two or more doses.
• Any pregnant woman seeking prenatal care at a public clinic can now receive an insecticide-treated net for herself and for any child under five living with her.

Through committed leadership; a strong, united partnership; and innovative approaches; Zambia has become a global leader in malaria control—and is making excellent progress toward its vision of a malaria-free Zambia.

Read more about progress in Zambia.

Learning together

MACEPA has expanded its reach by forming a learning community among the countries scaling up their malaria control efforts. The MACEPA Learning Community brings countries together to learn from each other and works with them to incorporate new knowledge, methods, and tools into their malaria control programs. The learning community is a forum for sharing knowledge, lessons learned, and tools; assessing progress; and tailoring malaria control approaches to the circumstances of each country.

Read more about the learning community.

Single steps make the journey

African countries are rising to the challenge by using malaria control strategies that have worked locally, scaling them up, and making them work at a national level. MACEPA’s central contributions are supporting governments in mobilizing partners, planning and carrying out technical aspects of their national plans, and facilitating learning among countries. Together we are reducing illness and death from malaria and setting new standards for malaria control in Africa.

Photos (from top): David Jacobs, PATH.