Consolidating gains and accelerating efforts to control and eliminate malaria in developing countries, particularly in Africa, by 2015 - Note by the Secretary-General (A/70/833)

The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the General Assembly the report of the Director-General of the World Health Organization, submitted in accordance with General Assembly resolution 69/325.

Report of the Director-General of the World Health Organization on consolidating gains and accelerating efforts to control and eliminate malaria in developing countries, particularly in Africa, by 2015

Summary

The present report is submitted in response to General Assembly resolution 69/325. It provides a review of progress in the implementation of the resolution, focusing on the adoption and scaling-up of interventions recommended by the World Health Organization in malaria-endemic countries. It also provides an assessment of progress towards the 2015 global malaria targets, including Millennium Development Goal 6, targets set through the African Union and the World Health Assembly, and goals set through the Global Malaria Action Plan of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership. It elaborates on the challenges limiting the full achievement of the targets, and provides recommendations to ensure that progress is accelerated towards the goals of the Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030 in the coming years.

I. Introduction

1. While malaria is a preventable and treatable disease, it continues to have a devastating impact on people’s health and livelihoods around the world. In 2015, approximately 3.2 billion people were at risk of the disease in 95 countries and territories, and an estimated 214 million malaria cases occurred (uncertainty range: 149 million-303 million). The disease killed 438,000 people (uncertainty range: 236,000-635,000), mostly children under 5 years of age in sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a multi-pronged strategy to reduce the malaria burden, including vector control interventions, preventive therapies, diagnostic testing, quality-assured treatment and strong malaria surveillance.

2. The present report highlights progress and challenges in the control and elimination of malaria in the context of General Assembly resolution 69/325. It draws on the World Malaria Report 2015, issued by WHO in December 2015. The analysis is based on the latest available comprehensive data (2014) received from malaria-endemic countries and organizations supporting global malaria efforts and includes projections to 2015 where it is feasible to do so. Data from 2015 are currently being collected and reviewed by WHO. Projections for 2015 were also published in The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015.

3. Between 2005 and 2015, malaria received worldwide recognition as a priority global health issue. Under the umbrella of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, endemic countries, United Nations agencies, bilateral donors, public-private partnerships, scientific organizations, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector worked together to scale up WHO-recommended interventions, harmonize activities and improve strategic planning, programme management and funding availability. A steep rise in international funding enabled endemic countries to expand their malaria programmes. Since 2010, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) has provided more than $4 billion for malaria interventions, while the Governments of the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have been the second and third largest bilateral funders.

4. The success of efforts to control and eliminate malaria is measured through an analysis of trends in the disease burden and intervention scale-up, and a review of progress made towards a set of global goals and targets, which have been designed through intergovernmental processes or set in the context of global initiatives. For the period 2000 to 2015, the four main sets of goals and targets were: Millennium Development Goal 6, targets set through the African Union and the World Health Assembly, and goals set by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership through the Global Malaria Action Plan. Further details are provided in section IV of the report. Regional and subregional targets for malaria control and elimination are not addressed here.