Figures from fatalities caused by malaria in the sub-Saharan region of Africa is expected to double to nearly 770,000 in the coming months, as measures to contain the disease are hampered by the coronavirus crisis, based on warnings by the World Health Organization.
The African area has over 25,000 confirmed COVID-19 infections that have claimed the lives of more than 1,200 people. Authorities in tandem with institutions like the WHO are now keeping a tight watch on fighting the pandemic.
World Health Organization Regional Director for Africa Dr. Matshidiso Moeti urged nations to continue ramping up preventive steps to contain the disease.
Some 7,000 people have so far recovered from the highly virulent respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, while more than 1,250 have perished, as of late Thursday.
WHO pointed out that so far sub-Saharan African regions had recorded relatively few cases of coronavirus pandemic, from which over 180,000 people have died the world over, and sickened more than 2.5 million.
However, the United Nation health body -- which has long cautioned that poor health infrastructures in the region are very vulnerable to becoming overburdened as cases rise -- warned that the virus was aggressively spreading in the region.
In 2018, nearly 95 percent of the world's fatalities brought about by malaria took place in the sub-Saharan Africa.
According to WHO, it was very important for health programs to continue concentrating on preventive interventions for children and pregnant women.
WHO has recently warned that the coronavirus pandemic could have secondary effects if measures to combat its spread led to other viruses endangering a greater number of people. The health institution has urged nations to fast-track anti-malaria programs while Covid-19 cases across the African continent remain relatively low.
In a separate statement released by WHO, it also reiterated its call to maintain immunization services globally to make sure the steps taken to contain the coronavirus pandemic do not end up triggering a re-emergence of vaccine-controllable diseases like polio and measles.
Malaria is a lethal mosquito-borne disease that can cause fever, chills and influenza-like symptoms. It is a treatable disease if early interventions are made, but existing anti-malarial drugs have been found to be ineffective in many areas because of growing resistance to the vaccine.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Benin and Chad have all carried out anti-malaria vaccinations during the pandemic, the WHO disclosed, stressing the move should serve as model for other countries on the continent.
