Progress and Impact
Great progress has been made in delivery of effective malaria control interventions that lead to many success stories in the fight against the disease. In countries that have achieved high coverage of their populations with Long-Lasting Insecticide-Treated Nets (LLINs) and treatment (Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies - ACTs) like Eritrea, Rwanda, Zambia, Zanzibar or Sao Tome e Principe, recorded cases and deaths due to malaria have fallen by 50% showing that MDGs and other malaria-related targets can be reached.
Eritrea had a population of 3.8 million in 2001 and reported a total of 126 000 malaria cases in that year. More than 1.1 million nets were distributed between 2001 and 2008 (an average of 139 000 per year), with LLIN distribution starting in 2005. In 2004, 73% of households in areas of high transmission owned an ITN (Insecticide-Treated Net) and 59% of children 0-5 years slept under a net. An average of 28 000 courses of ACT were distributed annually between 2006–2008, which was sufficient to treat all cases of P. falciparum malaria in outpatients. The number of malaria outpatients fell by more than 90% between 2001 and 2008. And there were 86% fewer deaths from malaria among inpatients in 2008 than in 2001.
In Rwanda, mass distribution of ITNs to children < 5 and to pregnant women, distribution of ACTs to public-sector facilities and increased rates of household ITN ownership and use by children exceeding 50% were associated with approximately 50% decreases in the numbers of confirmed outpatient cases, inpatient cases and deaths due to malaria over 24 months.
The population of Sao Tome and Principe was 160 000 in 2008. IRS protected 140 000 people in 2005, 126 000 in 2006 and 117 000 in 2007. By 2007, nationwide ITN coverage was among the highest in Africa: 78% of households owned at least one ITN and 54% of children 0-5 years slept under a net. ACT was introduced for treatment of malaria in 2005, and the number of treatment courses distributed in 2005–2008 was enough to cover all reported cases. The annual number of confirmed malaria cases in 2005–2008 was 84% lower than in 2000-2004.
