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Credit: CDC
Malaria prevalence maps indicate that, in 2010, nearly 184 million Africans were still living in areas where there is a high risk of contracting malaria, despite a decade of efforts to control the spread of the disease.
The maps showed that 40 African countries experienced reductions in childhood malaria transmission between 2000 and 2010.
Despite this progress, 57% of the population in malaria-endemic countries continued to live in areas of moderate to intense malaria transmission, with infection rates higher than 10%.
These findings are published in The Lancet.
Researchers compiled data from a collection of 26,746 community-based surveys of Plasmodium falciparum prevalence. The surveys covered 3,575,418 person observations from 44 malaria-endemic countries and territories in Africa since 1980.
“Health information systems in many African countries are weak, and it has been difficult to reliably estimate how many people get sick or die of malaria,” said study author Abdisalan Mohamed Noor, PhD, of the Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Nairobi and the University of Oxford in the UK.
“The population surveys we used in this study are a more reliable indicator for tracking, and we hope our study will help countries assess their progress and adapt their strategies for more effective malaria control.”
Using model-based geostatistics, Dr Noor and his colleagues estimated the proportion of the population, aged 2 to 10 years old, infected with different levels of P falciparum across Africa in 2000 and 2010.
The researchers wanted to evaluate the effects of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, which was launched in 2000 and resulted in a large increase in investments targeting malaria control.
The team found that the number of people living in high-risk areas, where more than 50% of the population is likely to carry infections, fell from 218.6 million in 2000 to 183.5 million in 2010—a 16% decrease.
But the population living in areas where the risk of infection is considered moderate to high grew from 178.6 million to 280.1 million—a 57% increase.
And the population living in areas where risk is regarded as very low grew from 78.2 million to 128.2 million—a 64% increase.
The researchers also discovered that 10 countries harbor 87% of the population remaining at high risk of malaria transmission. These countries are Guinea, Togo, Mali, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
On the other hand, the team noted that 7 countries have levels of malaria transmission so low that eliminating the disease is a realistic goal. These countries are Cape Verde, Eritrea, South Africa, Ethiopia, Swaziland, Djibouti, and Mayotte.
“The results of our analysis are pause for thought,” said study author Robert Snow, PhD, also of the Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme and the University of Oxford.
“On the one hand, it’s a glass half full, with several countries showing significant reductions in malaria transmission. And on the other, it’s a glass half empty, where, despite a decade of massive investment in malaria control, the populations living in several African countries are as likely to be infected with malaria in 2000 as they were 10 years later.” 
Credit: CDC
Malaria prevalence maps indicate that, in 2010, nearly 184 million Africans were still living in areas where there is a high risk of contracting malaria, despite a decade of efforts to control the spread of the disease.
The maps showed that 40 African countries experienced reductions in childhood malaria transmission between 2000 and 2010.
Despite this progress, 57% of the population in malaria-endemic countries continued to live in areas of moderate to intense malaria transmission, with infection rates higher than 10%.
These findings are published in The Lancet.
Researchers compiled data from a collection of 26,746 community-based surveys of Plasmodium falciparum prevalence. The surveys covered 3,575,418 person observations from 44 malaria-endemic countries and territories in Africa since 1980.
“Health information systems in many African countries are weak, and it has been difficult to reliably estimate how many people get sick or die of malaria,” said study author Abdisalan Mohamed Noor, PhD, of the Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Nairobi and the University of Oxford in the UK.
“The population surveys we used in this study are a more reliable indicator for tracking, and we hope our study will help countries assess their progress and adapt their strategies for more effective malaria control.”
Using model-based geostatistics, Dr Noor and his colleagues estimated the proportion of the population, aged 2 to 10 years old, infected with different levels of P falciparum across Africa in 2000 and 2010.
The researchers wanted to evaluate the effects of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, which was launched in 2000 and resulted in a large increase in investments targeting malaria control.
The team found that the number of people living in high-risk areas, where more than 50% of the population is likely to carry infections, fell from 218.6 million in 2000 to 183.5 million in 2010—a 16% decrease.
But the population living in areas where the risk of infection is considered moderate to high grew from 178.6 million to 280.1 million—a 57% increase.
And the population living in areas where risk is regarded as very low grew from 78.2 million to 128.2 million—a 64% increase.
The researchers also discovered that 10 countries harbor 87% of the population remaining at high risk of malaria transmission. These countries are Guinea, Togo, Mali, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
On the other hand, the team noted that 7 countries have levels of malaria transmission so low that eliminating the disease is a realistic goal. These countries are Cape Verde, Eritrea, South Africa, Ethiopia, Swaziland, Djibouti, and Mayotte.
“The results of our analysis are pause for thought,” said study author Robert Snow, PhD, also of the Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme and the University of Oxford.
“On the one hand, it’s a glass half full, with several countries showing significant reductions in malaria transmission. And on the other, it’s a glass half empty, where, despite a decade of massive investment in malaria control, the populations living in several African countries are as likely to be infected with malaria in 2000 as they were 10 years later.”
Credit: CDC
Malaria prevalence maps indicate that, in 2010, nearly 184 million Africans were still living in areas where there is a high risk of contracting malaria, despite a decade of efforts to control the spread of the disease.
The maps showed that 40 African countries experienced reductions in childhood malaria transmission between 2000 and 2010.
Despite this progress, 57% of the population in malaria-endemic countries continued to live in areas of moderate to intense malaria transmission, with infection rates higher than 10%.
These findings are published in The Lancet.
Researchers compiled data from a collection of 26,746 community-based surveys of Plasmodium falciparum prevalence. The surveys covered 3,575,418 person observations from 44 malaria-endemic countries and territories in Africa since 1980.
“Health information systems in many African countries are weak, and it has been difficult to reliably estimate how many people get sick or die of malaria,” said study author Abdisalan Mohamed Noor, PhD, of the Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme in Nairobi and the University of Oxford in the UK.
“The population surveys we used in this study are a more reliable indicator for tracking, and we hope our study will help countries assess their progress and adapt their strategies for more effective malaria control.”
Using model-based geostatistics, Dr Noor and his colleagues estimated the proportion of the population, aged 2 to 10 years old, infected with different levels of P falciparum across Africa in 2000 and 2010.
The researchers wanted to evaluate the effects of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, which was launched in 2000 and resulted in a large increase in investments targeting malaria control.
The team found that the number of people living in high-risk areas, where more than 50% of the population is likely to carry infections, fell from 218.6 million in 2000 to 183.5 million in 2010—a 16% decrease.
But the population living in areas where the risk of infection is considered moderate to high grew from 178.6 million to 280.1 million—a 57% increase.
And the population living in areas where risk is regarded as very low grew from 78.2 million to 128.2 million—a 64% increase.
The researchers also discovered that 10 countries harbor 87% of the population remaining at high risk of malaria transmission. These countries are Guinea, Togo, Mali, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Uganda, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
On the other hand, the team noted that 7 countries have levels of malaria transmission so low that eliminating the disease is a realistic goal. These countries are Cape Verde, Eritrea, South Africa, Ethiopia, Swaziland, Djibouti, and Mayotte.
“The results of our analysis are pause for thought,” said study author Robert Snow, PhD, also of the Kenya Medical Research Institute-Wellcome Trust Research Programme and the University of Oxford.
“On the one hand, it’s a glass half full, with several countries showing significant reductions in malaria transmission. And on the other, it’s a glass half empty, where, despite a decade of massive investment in malaria control, the populations living in several African countries are as likely to be infected with malaria in 2000 as they were 10 years later.”