Malaria Minute, 21 June 2019
New WHO report tracks the progress of 21 countries in eradicating malaria, the BBC investigate the sale of government drugs in Uganda and Professor Tu YouYou offers her recommendations to prevent artemisinin resistance. Listen to this Podcast
Creating a malaria-free world is a bold and important public health and sustainable development goal. It is also the vision of the Global technical strategy for malaria 2016-2030, which calls for the elimination of malaria in at least 10 countries by the year 2020.
In 2016, WHO identified 21 countries, spanning 5 regions, that could defeat malaria by 2020, considering the likelihood of elimination across key criteria. All are united by one target: to achieve zero indigenous cases of malaria within the 2020 timeline. This report charts their progress.
Download the E-2020 initiative of 21 malaria-eliminating countries: 2019 progress report here
The MESA Correspondent volunteers report on the latest in malaria research from conferences around the world. The synopses are shared online, enabling people who could not attend the meeting to read about the latest advances. The MESA Correspondents Program is a collaboration between MESA and the conference organizers.
IN 30 SECONDS: Mosquitoes spread diseases to millions of people around the world, yet they remain poorly understood by most. Of particular interest among these diseases is malaria in Africa, transmitted predominantly by four cruel members of the Anopheles family. This article is an abridged illustration of the many biological intrigues in the lives of malaria mosquitoes. The more we understand it, the closer we will get to “zero malaria”. And we must do so with as few deaths as possible
Malaria Minute, 14 June 2019
Big data allows scientists to produce malaria ‘risk maps’ in Bangladesh and Indian researchers develop a new paper-based method of malaria detection.
Malaria Minute, 7 June 2019
A new study finds that fungus, genetically enhanced to produce spider toxin, can kill a large-number of malaria-carrying mosquitos.
Malaria Minute, 24 May 2019
The BioMalPar conference takes place in Germany, Venezuela experiences malaria resurgence in humanitarian crisis and the BBC showcase efforts to fight malaria in Sierra Leone.
All malaria-endemic countries in Africa are on a sliding scale towards a malaria-free future. Bold and ambitious goals around malaria elimination were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015 through target 3.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals; by Africa’s leaders through the Africa Agenda 2063; and by the World Health Assembly in May 2015 through the Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016–2030, known as the GTS. The GTS has four 2030 goals and targets: reduce malaria mortality rates globally by at least 90% compared with 2015; reduce malaria case incidence globally by at least 90% compared with 2015; eliminate malaria from at least 35 countries in which malaria was transmitted in 2015; and prevent re-establishment of malaria in all countries that are malaria-free. The post-2015 period therefore presents a scenario of bold reforms intended to actualize a malaria-free future. In order to align the GTS to the African context, the Framework for implementing the Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016–2030 in the African Region was developed.
After extensive evaluation, a unique mosquito control product called Aquatain AMF has been prequalified by the World Health Organization (WHO) for procurement by the UN and other international agencies and countries in tackling mosquito-borne diseases.
Working the night shift on Malaria's frontline in Sierra Leone
It's night-time at Ola During Children's Hospital in Freetown, Sierra Leone and doctors Nehlama Barrie and Winstina Gbondo are on shift. Most nights here see children die of Malaria complications but a free health programme has given them a fighting chance of saving lives.
Filmmakers: Paul Myles and Zoe Jewell
Producer: Abdul Samba Brima
Editor: Brad Hayward
27 May 2019
Watch this video
Malaria Minute, 24 May 2019
Algeria and Argentina certified ‘malaria-free’ by WHO, journalists from high burden countries begin RBM media fellowship and Dr Pedro Alonso speaks at the World Health Assembly.
Listen to this Podcast
World Health Organization, Geneva, 22 May 2019
Algeria and Argentina have been officially recognized by WHO as malaria-free. The certification is granted when a country proves that it has interrupted indigenous transmission of the disease for at least 3 consecutive years.
The 5th International conference on Malaria Vaccines for the World (MVW) was held on May 8-10 at the University of Oxford, UK. The current status of new technologies, vaccine candidates, clinical trials and the RTS/s implementation studies were discussed during three intensive days, and here you can read coverage of each session from the MESA Correspondents.
Malaria Minute, 17 May 2019
Ministerial meeting regarding malaria is arranged for the World Health Assembly, the ‘Malaria Vaccines for the World’ event takes place in Oxford and submissions open for the ‘Malaria in Melbourne’ conference.
Listen to this Podcast
Malaria Minute, 10 May 2019
Rory Stewart becomes new Secretary of State for International Development, PMI release their thirteenth Annual Report and the MalaFA report shares the opinion of African experts.
Listen to this podcast
We are a group of four MSc students from the TU Delft in the Netherlands and working on a new mosquito bait to kill mosquitos and reduce the spreading- and infection of malaria. In order to further develop the prorotypes, test them in Kenya and ensure successful implementation, we set up a crowdfunding campaign.
MalaFA (Malaria Futures for Africa) is an opinion research study. It is the first systematic effort in many years to collect expert African views on malaria policy. It was commissioned by Novartis Social Business to capture the thoughts of 68 African malaria experts in 14 sub-Saharan African countries – ministers of health, members of parliament, senior civil servants working in health, heads of national malaria control programmes and representatives of academia and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working on malaria.
The Compendium of WHO malaria guidance provides, for the first time, a complete list of all formal WHO policy recommendations on malaria in a single resource. The document also serves as a catalogue of all WHO publications on malaria prevention, diagnosis, treatment, surveillance and elimination.
Paris, 25 April 2019 – Today leaders from across the globe meet in Paris to renew commitments and announce new initiatives to accelerate the global movement to end malaria in our lifetime.
“For World Malaria Day, we’re joining countries and partners with a clear message: ‘Zero malaria starts with me,’” says the WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in his World Malaria Day message. “We’re calling on political leaders, the private sector and affected communities to take action to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment of malaria. We all have a role to play.”
IN 30 SECONDS: There is no doubt that bed nets, insecticides, medicines and diagnostics will deliver significant successes against malaria in the short-term. But as major international partners continue prioritizing the commodity-based approach, African governments should be building the necessary resilience in affected communities. Countries should ensure safe houses and physical environments so that exposure to mosquito bites is minimized, strengthen health systems to identify and treat new malaria cases, expand access to health education in schools and households, and improve household economies and food security so that competing priorities are addressed. This needs to be a long-term strategy, paid for by domestic funding, subsidies, tax rebates or other innovative financing mechanisms – for example a ten-dollar malaria levy paid by international travelers visiting endemic countries. This way, the affected countries can better avoid malaria deaths and sickness, or rebounds of transmission, which currently place such a strain on national health outcomes and development.
Country first of three in Africa to roll out landmark vaccine
WHO welcomes the Government of Malawi’s launch of the world’s first malaria vaccine today in a landmark pilot programme. The country is the first of three in Africa in which the vaccine, known as RTS,S, will be made available to children up to 2 years of age; Ghana and Kenya will introduce the vaccine in the coming weeks.
Nature News, 16 April 2019
A malaria vaccine that can provide up to 100% protection against the disease will be tested in a large clinical trial for the first time, to study its efficacy under real-world conditions.
Keeping you up to date with the latest malaria news
Fight Malaria uses the power of podcasting to connect the dots between the global efforts to eradicate malaria. The Malaria Minute podcastbrings global malaria news to you in 60 seconds. The Five Minutes podcast highlight people fighting malaria on the forefront.
Hello, I’m Thomas Locke and this is Five Minutes, the podcast that brings you closer to the malaria experts.
If you are working on malaria in East or Southern Africa you are invited to participate in the survey of the Embassy of Switzerland to Tanzania and Zambia.*
Cyclone Idai Causes ‘Spike’ in Malaria Cases
By Thomas Locke
Cyclone Idai causes ‘spike’ in malaria cases, Oxford Uni researchers head to Africa to sequence mosquito DNA and the NothingButNets Leader Summit takes place in the US capitol.
Listen to this podcast
The University of Malaya hosted the "Current Tools to Combat Malaria - with Special Focus on Plasmodium knowlesi" workshop on March 4 - 8, 2019, which had 20 participants from eight different countries. Dr Lucas Low Van Lun covered this intensive week of lectures and practical sessions and reported the daily lessons learnt in a series of reports posted in the Resource Hub.
