Current Situation of Malaria in Africa

Abstract

Malaria infection is one of the major causes of deaths in the African continent. The high burden of malaria in Africa is due to P. falciparum, which adapts and cospecializes with Anopheles gambiae, the most effective and widespread malaria vector. Since 2000, the incidence of malaria has been reduced by 17% and malaria mortality rates by 26%. However, the rate of decline has stalled and even reversed in some regions since 2014. In 2017 as described by the latest World malaria report, 219 million malaria cases were reported, up from 2017 million cases reported in 2016 in 91 countries, and the global tally of malaria deaths reached 435,000 deaths, compared with 451,000 estimated deaths in 2016. Despite these achievements, the African region continues to account for about 92% of malaria cases and deaths worldwide. Therefore, it is important to master the current situation of malaria in Africa to see how to better plan its elimination. In this chapter, we present the current situation and prospective means to improve it, including a salutogenesis approach.

Keywords: Africa; Burden; Malaria; Salutogenesis.