700 million Malaria cases prevented in Africa

Nearly 700 million cases of malaria have been prevented in Africa as a result of concerted efforts to tackle the disease since 2000.

The report published in the journal Nature showed that overall the number of infections fell by 50 percent across the continent.

The decrease was attributed to the vast majority of treated bed nets. 

There have also been calls to maintain funding to ensure the progress is not undone.

The report said 13 countries that had malaria in 2000 reported no cases in 2014 while a further six countries had fewer than ten cases.

The Director General of WHO, Dr. Margaret Chan, said global malaria control is one of the great public health success stories of the past 15 years.

She said it is a sign that their strategies are on target, and that they can beat the ancient killer, which still claims hundreds of thousands of lives, mostly children, each year.


BBC