World Malaria Day aims to raise awareness about global efforts to control malaria and celebrate the improvement i.e diagnosis and treatment. This day has been celebrated on 25 April each year since 2007. Malaria is observed in more than 100 countries worldwide, and approximately 900,000 people die from malaria each year. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria is a preventable and treatable disease. But it has a devastating impact on the health and livelihood of people if not prevented or treated well.
From the 1500s to 2022, malaria has been one of the most lethal diseases around the world. In 2020, there were approximately 241 million cases of malaria and 627,000 deaths in 85 countries due to malaria. In WHO African Region, there were more than ⅔ of deaths among children under the age of 5 years. So, malaria can be lethal, if preventive measures, as well as treatment, wouldn’t be practiced. Here I’ve briefly described the World Malaria Day Timeline, Theme, Objectives, and Activities.
World Malaria Day Timeline
1500s, Malaria Initiation
The 1500s considered as the malarial starter century. Spanish invaders brought malaria to the Americas.
1600s, Fever Tree
In the 1600s, colonizers and missionaries used to treat malaria through traditional ways. They used the cinchona tree bark to treat malaria. So, Cinchona was also known as the Fever Tree.
1821, Quinine
The 1800s was known for the significant work of the scientists for malaria treatment. French scientists purified a substance, quinine, from the cinchona bark. They proved that it is very effective for malarial fevers.
1902, Mosquito Discovery
British doctor Ronald Ross discovered that malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes, plasmodium. He won the Nobel Prize for his significant work in mosquito discovery. His innovation provided a way to diagnose as well as treat the lethal diseases, Malaria.
1940-1970s, Malaria Eradication
Malaria was largely eradicated in the West due to DDT; eradication was practiced in many countries throughout the world.
May 2007, World Malaria Day Established
In May 2007, at the 60th session of the World Health Assembly (sponsored by the World Health Organization), it was proposed to change Africa Malaria Day to World Malaria Day. This day highlights awareness about the global effort to control and ultimately eradicate malaria.
World Malaria Day 2022 Theme
The World Malaria Day 2022 Theme will be marked as “Harness innovation to reduce the malaria disease burden and save lives.” No single action can solve the problem of malaria. WHO is organizing events to collect investments and innovation that would bring about new vector control approaches. This innovation will provide the facilities of diagnostics, antimalarial medicines and other steps to speed up the malaria control and reduce malaria mortality rates.
The World Malaria Day 2020 Theme was “Zero malaria starts with me.” The WHO had also joined the RBM partnership to eliminate malaria and promote that theme. A movement was started to take urgent actions to eradicate malaria. According to WHO’s World Malaria report 2019, “There were no global gains in reducing new infections over the period 2014 to 2018. And nearly as many people died from malaria in 2018 as the year before.”
Objectives of World Malaria Day
On the first observance of World Malaria Day, the secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, emphasized the requirements to increase the availability of bed nets, medicines, public health facilities, and trained health workers in malaria affected areas throughout the globe. He also challenged the global initiative organizations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, and the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria to spread awareness as well as prompt actions regarding the disease. He also asked to create the Global Malaria Action Plan (GMAP) to design a unified strategy for the control of malaria.
Malaria is preventable and rectifiable, and some kingdoms of the world have abolished the disease exclusively and others are struggling against it with full endeavors. If these countries can overcome the fatal disease Malaria then why can’t we? This day has been considered international to convey awareness to prevent malaria. The fundamental aims of the day are first controlling and then eradicating malaria from severely affected areas. Let’s read out some significant Objectives of World Malaria Day.
- An opportunity for the doctors & researchers to communicate about the current facts of disease.
- A gathering for international agencies and research institutions to discuss the progress of the GMAP.
- A day to spread awareness about global issues due to malaria.
- Awareness programs in developing countries, where malaria has significantly higher mortality rates.
Malaria is preventable as well as curable disease. But you must be aware of causes, symptoms and preventive measures of the disease to control or cure it. World Malaria Day aims to raise essential information about the ailment. You should also do your part to eradicate malaria. You may join any local, national or international conference or events to learn the basic knowledge. Did you find this post valuable? Share your opinion in the comment section. Stay tuned with the NaeTaze website for upcoming events.
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