Transmitted through mosquito bites, malaria remains a widespread disease worldwide, killing nearly 620,000 people in 2021, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America.
Two hundred and fifty million new cases are recorded each year and, despite advances in research, "we must redouble our efforts to reduce the incidence," said Francine Ntoumi, professor at the Congolese Foundation for Medical Research, the guest of France 24.
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© AFP
"Unfortunately, the funds are not there," says the researcher, who also deplores the lack of scientists engaged in the fight against this disease. "Covid vaccines were developed in a very short time," she recalls. It would therefore be necessary to invest more" against malaria, to have similar results. "Our leaders must put their hands in their pockets and invest."
Because if Ghana has given the green light for the testing of a "promising" vaccine against malaria, it is "still in development", continues Francine Ntoumi. "Research continues, but more studies need to be conducted and the vaccine needs to be tested in several countries, because the strains of malaria are diverse."
In Africa, more than one million children have been vaccinated against malaria
Beyond the vaccine, there is also a need for more investment in prevention, which plays a central role in the fight against malaria. India, the first country affected by the disease in Southeast Asia, with 4 million cases per year according to the WHO, manages to reduce contamination. These have reportedly dropped by 90% since the establishment of prevention brigades crisscrossing villages to inform residents, as in this report by Nejma Bentrad and Nabeel Ahmed for France 24.
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In Colombia, on the other hand, infections continue to increase despite the efforts of the authorities, and 70,000 Colombians die of malaria every year. In the department of Choco, where Marta Moya and Aitor Twabarri went for France 24, they have risen by 60% in the last thirty years. Miners are particularly affected: it is almost impossible for them to protect themselves from mosquitoes while working.
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Global warming is also likely to increase the incidence of malaria, which already threatens half of the world's population.
"Climate change may allow the mosquito to return to areas it had deserted. It could multiply again and spread the disease there. So decision-makers, the public and scientists really need to work together," concludes Francine Ntoumi.
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