As the world battles Covid-19, a major health crisis that has already claimed millions of lives, it is imperative that we do not forget another deadly disease that continues to plague millions of people, particularly in Africa: malaria.
According to Catharina Boehme, chief executive of the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics and adviser to the World Health Organisation, financial incentives have encouraged many companies to downscale or stop the production of tests for infectious diseases, including malaria, to focus on mass-producing Covid-19 tests.
This decision could erode the gains made against malaria over the past 20 years, which saw the widespread deployment of malaria rapid diagnostic tests, particularly across Africa, expand access to prompt and quality diagnosis, enabling early treatment and avoiding severe illness and death.
Despite the impressive decrease in the global malaria burden by over 60 per cent since the early 2000s, malaria remains a major health problem in Africa, where a child dies from malaria every two minutes.
It is unacceptable that a treatable and preventable disease like malaria continues to claim lives, particularly in Africa, where over 90 per cent of the 228 million malaria cases and 405,000 malaria deaths reported in 2018 occurred.
As the WHO-led malaria eradication campaign in the 1950s ended, malaria rebounded rapidly, with catastrophic effects. The WHO has issued an impassioned appeal to malaria-endemic countries not to compromise on the delivery of malaria-control activities and healthcare services as they battle Covid-19.
However, maintaining malaria services during the Covid-19 pandemic comes with challenges, including restrictions on the movement of people and supplies, and the close contact required for malaria testing.
It is crucial that communities and healthcare workers are reminded that a fever does not always mean a Covid-19 infection, and that individuals with a fever should test for malaria as soon as possible, particularly in malaria-endemic areas.
Children with fever should be tested for malaria, as they are a high-risk population prone to severe complications.
African governments must take the lead in ensuring that there are minimal disruptions to the delivery of appropriately tailored essential malaria-control activities and services.
Until then, countries should consider stockpiling supplies of malaria rapid diagnostic tests, treatment, and essential control commodities, including insecticides for indoor residual spraying, and personal protective equipment.
By prioritising malaria treatment, we can ensure that this preventable disease is eliminated in our lifetime.
Jaishree Raman works at the Laboratory for Antimalarial Resistance Monitoring and Malaria Operational Research, National Institute for Communicable Diseases. This article was first published in The Conversation on 15 May 2020.
