Control and Eradication of Malaria: Past, Present and Future

The problem of malaria To the great surprise of many well-informed people in developed countries, malaria remains a major problem in the world today. Although figures may not be very reliable, it was estimated that in 2008 one fifth of the world’s population was at risk of malaria, leading to 240 million episodes and some 850,000 deaths, the majority occurring in Africa. The impact falls mainly on children under five and in 50 million pregnant women at risk annually, where effects on mother and baby can be disastrous. Apart from the major problem of deaths and serious illness from the potentially lethal form, Plasmodium falciparum, very large numbers of individuals suffer from the less serious form of malaria, Plasmodium vivax, that is a particular problem in the Asia-Pacific region, where some 2 billion people are at risk of infection. Despite the horrific burden of malaria today, it is noteworthy that the situation is substantially improved compared with a century ago when many more countries were susceptible to malaria transmission. The number has now fallen to about 100, in many of which the number of cases is relatively small, as control efforts are effective, and some countries are moving towards elimination. Thus the major burden of death and illness that leads to complications of