Malaria Control in Africa: The Story So Far
Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It is preventable and curable. In 2017, there were an estimated 219 million cases of malaria in 87 countries. The estimated number of malaria deaths stood at 435,000 in 2017. In 2017, nearly half of the world's population was at risk of malaria. Most malaria cases and deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the WHO regions of South-East Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, Western Pacific, and the Americas are also at risk. The WHO African Region carries a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. In 2017, the region was home to 92% of malaria cases and 93% of malaria deaths. Children under 5 years of age are the most vulnerable group affected by malaria; in 2017, they accounted for 61% (266,000) of all malaria deaths worldwide. The WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030 – adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2015 – provides a technical framework for all malaria-endemic countries. It is intended to guide and support regional and country programs as they work towards malaria control and elimination. We will discuss the history of elimination of malaria from some parts of the developed world, the measures the developing world is taking towards the elimination of malaria and the possibility that malaria could come back to the USA.
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Tsiri Agbenyega obtained a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MB. ChB) from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana, in 1982. After earning qualification as a doctor, he did rotations in the departments of Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics & Gynecology, and Pediatrics at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi. He obtained a PhD in Physiology from the University of Manchester (UK) in 1991. He started teaching Physiology in the School of Medical Sciences KNUST in 1991.
He is a former Dean of the Medical School and a former Provost of the College of Health Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Physiology in the School of Medical Sciences. He is the Principal Investigator at the Malaria Vaccine Trial Centre at the Agogo Presbyterian Hospital and the Medical Director at the HopeXchange Medical Centre in Kumasi.