By Ayo Kehinde
Nigeria recorded 30.9% of all global malaria deaths in 2023, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said Thursday, in its World Malaria Report for 2024.
Noting that about 40% of malaria deaths among children under five, occured in Nigeria, the report estimated 263 million malaria cases were recorded in 2023 among lower and upper bounds of 238 million and 294 million respectively, in 83 malaria endemic countries, including the territory of French Guiana, an increase of 11 million cases compared with 2022.
According to the report, since 2020, the number of estimated malaria cases has steadily increased, with Africa (89.7%) and the Eastern Mediterranean Region (15.5%) bearing the brunt of the burden. The report revealed Ethiopia (+4.5 million), Madagascar (+2.7 million), Pakistan (+1.6 million), Nigeria (+1.4 million) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (+600,000), were the main countries contributing to the increase in cases between 2022 and 2023.
According to WHO, malaria case incidence declined between 2000 and 2015, from 79.0 to 58.0 per 1,000 population at risk. Between 2015 and 2022, incidence remained stable, while in 2023, malaria case incidence slightly increased compared with 2022, from 58.6 to 60.4 per 1,000 population at risk.
“While the incidence remained similar between 2022 and 2023 in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (meaning that the increase in cases is likely due to population growth only), the estimated incidence increased by 82%, 71% and 59% in Ethiopia, Madagascar and Pakistan respectively”, WHO noted.
WHO also noted that in “2023, 29 of the 83 countries, including the territory of French Guiana that were malaria endemic accounted for almost 95% of malaria cases and 96% of deaths globally.
“Five countries—Nigeria (25.9%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (12.6%), Uganda (4.8%), Ethiopia (3.6%) and Mozambique (3.5%)—accounted for just over half of all cases.
“Four countries accounted for just over half of all malaria deaths globally: Nigeria (30.9%), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (11.3%), the Niger (5.9%) and the United Republic of Tanzania (4.3%). Nigeria accounted for 39.3% of global malaria deaths in children aged under 5 years.
“In 2023, there were 246 million cases and 569,000 deaths in the African Region, and between 2019 and 2023, estimated malaria cases and deaths increased by 23 million and 24,000 respectively, with a peak of 598,000 estimated deaths in 2020, linked to COVID-19.”
