Malaria Deaths Down But Still Too High, Says UN Body

LONDON – Malaria death rates have plunged by 60 percent since 2000 – or 6.2 million lives saved, the vast majority of them children – according to a joint World Health Organization-UNICEF report released today.

“Global malaria control is one of the great public health success stories of the past 15 years,” said Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO.

In spite of the progress, however, in 2015 there were an estimated 214 million new cases of malaria, and approximately 438 000 people died of this preventable and treatable disease. About 3.2 billion people – almost half of the world’s population – are at risk of malaria, the WHO statement said.

Some countries continue to carry a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. Fifteen countries, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, accounted for 80 percent of malaria cases and 78 percent of deaths globally in 2015.