World Malaria Day is observed on April 25 every year to raise awareness about the deadly vector-borne disease. The latest World Malaria report states that Malaria remains to be global health burden and there is no significant reduction in malaria cases in the period of 2015 to 2017.
The report also says that the estimated number of malaria deaths in 2017 were 4,35,000. Especially the African region in our country shoulders over 90 percent of the global malaria burden. There were an estimated 3.5 million more cases of malaria in 2017 over the previous year, in 10 African countries.
This year marks the 12th anniversary of the World Malaria Day. It was initiated in May 2007 for the first time by the 60th session of the World Health Assembly.
World Malaria Day 2019 theme
World Malaria Day focuses on a specific theme every year and this year the theme is ‘Zero malaria starts with me’. As per the name of the theme, the focus of the programme this year is on empowering communities across various countries to take ownership of preventing malaria and providing proper care of the treatment to those in need.
According to WHO the ownership of the challenge lies in the hands of countries most affected by malaria.
Significance of World Malaria Day 2019
Malaria Day aims at curbing the vector-borne disease and to urge the global administrator to work towards spreading awareness about prevention of the disease. Every year, the global tally of new malaria cases exceeds 200 million. And every 2 minutes, a child dies from this preventable and treatable disease. The damage inflicted extends far beyond the loss of life: malaria takes a heavy toll on health systems, sapping productivity and eroding economic growth. Ultimately, investing in universal health care is the best way to ensure that all communities have access to the services they need to beat malaria.
Communities affected by malaria along with government and private institutions all around the globe celebrate this day by organizing events to spread awareness about malaria, preventive measures, and available treatment options
