Progress on malaria control in countries - WHO in an era of transformation
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Transformation Agenda (TA), initiated in 2015, aimed to change WHO into a proactive, results-driven, accountable organization that would optimally meet stakeholder expectations. The battle against malaria falls under the smart technical programmatic focus of the TA, due to its high endemicity, morbidity and mortality in the African Region.
Significant improvements were recorded from 2015, with crucial reductions in case numbers achieved in several countries, including Mauritania (-71%), Ethiopia (-70%), Zimbabwe (-68%), The Gambia (-53%), Rwanda (-53%), South Africa (-40%) and Ghana (-33%). Reduced death rates were also recorded in Zimbabwe (-68%), Ethiopia (- 64%), South Africa (-49%), Togo (-28%), Sierra Leone (-24%), Central African Republic (-17%) and Burkina Faso (-14%). Cabo Verde was the only country in the African Region to eliminate malaria since 2018 and has applied for certification of malaria elimination. However, lack of progress in high-burden countries caused stalling in regional progress and prompted action to help the ten highest-burden countries get back on track.
