Malaria: A Growth Area

Globally, in 2023, there were 263 million cases of malaria. Six hundred thousand people (predominantly young children) died. This death rate from malarial infections, constituted a rise for the fifth consective year. The protozoan parasite, is showing increased resistance to anti-malarial drugs. Its mosquito vector, is also becoming less responsive to insecticides. The UN World Health Organisation (WHO) opines, however, that a funding shortfall was the major driver of increased malarial deaths in 2023. Climate and humanitarian disasters (wars, droughts and famines) are hampering effective control efforts (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/dec/11/global-health-deaths-malaria-rise-drug-insecticide-resistance-climate-crisis-funding-un). Perhaps the recently developed and trialled vaccines against malaria will help? It currently seems likely, however, malaria will remain a major scourge in poorer global regions. This long-established disease certainly attracts less funding/investment than ailments that directly impact the populations of 'developed' nations.