Promising news from the front on the war on malaria

Seattle-based PATH has been one of a number of organizations promoting the use of many tools in its effort to eliminate diseases afflicting the developing world. In the case of malaria, those tools have included insecticide-treated nets, diagnositcs and antimalarial medicines. Now two scientists from PATH’s Malaria Control Program say that with the right strategy the goal of eliminating Malaria in Africa is within reach. The article should stir debate at a Malaria Forum sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to be held in Seattle starting Monday that will be attended by leaders from the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the National Institutes of Health.

Here’s the press release from PATH.

Seattle, WA, October 12, 2011Malaria,
a leading killer of children in Africa, can be eliminated on the continent, PATHs
Kent Campbell and Rick Steketee argue in the October 2011 issue
of The American Journal of Tropical
Medicine and Hygiene. By ending the transmission of the disease with tools
available today including long-lasting insecticide-treated nets, indoor
residual spraying, diagnostics, effective antimalarial medicines, and a focused
strategy that evolves as progress advances, malaria can be eliminated in
Africa. Evidence documented by national malaria control programs across Africa
shows elimination is achievable.

An
increasing number of African countries are using malaria control tools, which
are proving to be a powerful, lifesaving arsenal, said Kent Campbell, director
of PATHs Malaria Control Program. The deaths of more than a million children
have been prevented in Africa in the last decade and a growing number of
African countries are forging ahead on the path to elimination. Elimination is
the only acceptable end to the fight against malaria. We cannot settle for
anything less.

The
commentary piece was published in advance of a major international forum on
malaria elimination. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation 2011 Malaria Forum
on Optimism and Urgency will be held October 1719 in Seattle, WA, and will bring
together the global malaria community to assess progress and next steps in the
global fight to stop malaria. On Monday, October 17, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership
(RBM) will release its latest Progress
& Impact Series report, Eliminating Malaria: Learning From the Past,
Looking Ahead.

According to Campbell and Steketee, and
outlined in the commentary piece, the steps that need to be taken to move from
reducing malaria-related illnesses and deaths to ending infections in Africa include:

1. Ensuring prevention and treatment tools are fully
   deployed, reaching every person at risk.

Improving delivery of these tools and the management
of malaria cases.

1. Reducing the transmission of malaria. Initial transmission
   reductions were largely due to killing malaria parasites in mosquitoes. The
   next step is to focus on the parasites in infected people.

We need to find and cure every person
infected with malaria, said Campbell. We can do this by stepping up
surveillance and monitoring, using real-time data so we know where the threat
has been and where its going. Malaria deaths are entirely preventable today.
We have the tools.

National program experiences across Africa demonstrate malaria can be
eliminated today in many places using existing tools such as long-lasting
insecticide-treated nets and aggressive case detection and treatment. New
strategies and tools, such as vaccines, which are soon expected to be
available, will strengthen the effort.

“We’ve made great progress, but we
absolutely must accelerate and sustain our collective efforts. We cannot allow
a reversal of the gains we have made to date,” said Professor Awa Marie
Coll-Seck, executive director of the RBM Partnership. “Ending malaria in
Africa requires all of us to do our part, from local communities and
national governments, to global partners.
It’s an ambitious goal, but one which we can achieve.

Challenges exist including
shifting the definition of success from saving lives to ending infections and
competing health priorities. Successfully ending the transmission of the
disease and achieving elimination will require political will and sustained
funding commitments. Otherwise, backslides are possible and the tremendous
progress made will be lost.

The commentary piece is available online at: https://www.ajtmh.org/content/85/4/584.full.