World Malaria Day observed on the 25th of April yearly aims to spread awareness on disease prevention and control to reduce morbidity and mortality worldwide aiming elimination.
Given the present-day tools, significant progress has been made in reducing malaria transmission in the recent past. As many, 41 countries have been certified to be malaria-free, and many more are approaching elimination in the foreseeable future. Yet malaria transmission remains uninterrupted and continues to inflict morbidity in many parts of the tropical world. The disease burden, however, is disproportionate with 95% of all malaria cases and reported deaths in Sub-Saharan African countries affecting equitable socio-economic development.
To disrupt transmission, it is of paramount importance to improve disease surveillance and prevention programs. The wide range of strategies to prevent malaria (from vector control to preventive chemotherapy and/or the first malaria vaccine) make it necessary to have a multidisciplinary approach targeting disease vectors and causative parasites.
Given the wealth of knowledge on disease vectors and newer treatment regimens, malaria has been cornered, yet reaching the last mile to elimination is beset with several constraints. New challenges are emerging that have made the fight against malaria formidable. Between 2020 and 2021, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, malaria treatment was disrupted in several locations amounting to an additional 13 million cases and 63,000 deaths than previous year. In 2021, there were an estimated 247 million cases in some 84 countries reporting a slight increase from 245 million cases in 2020. Amidst several challenges, a shift in mosquito vector behavior evading insecticide exposure and development and spread of multi-insecticide resistance have made malaria elimination a herculean task.
In keeping with World Malaria Day 2023 theme, “Ready to Beat Malaria”, Frontiers is launching a drive for article collection to help mount a decisive attack to defeat malaria. This occasion not only offers an opportunity to acknowledge the increase in awareness and information about malaria but also to consider the importance of political will to increase investments in newer vector control tools, diagnostic and anti-malaria medicines.
The Frontiers in Public Health Research Topic aims to address the public-health-specific dimensions of this UN day. Topics may include, but are by no means limited to:
• Malaria awareness strategies enhancing program reach
• Malaria disease surveillance
• Malaria control programs and intervention strategies
• Malaria prevention programs using vector-control strategies (including mosquito nets, insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying)
• Preventative chemotherapy as a prevention strategy
• Studies about the malaria vaccine in different populations
• Challenges in malaria surveillance and control linked to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Insecticide resistance and spread
• Invasive mosquito vector species and emerging challenges
World Malaria Day observed on the 25th of April yearly aims to spread awareness on disease prevention and control to reduce morbidity and mortality worldwide aiming elimination.
Given the present-day tools, significant progress has been made in reducing malaria transmission in the recent past. As many, 41 countries have been certified to be malaria-free, and many more are approaching elimination in the foreseeable future. Yet malaria transmission remains uninterrupted and continues to inflict morbidity in many parts of the tropical world. The disease burden, however, is disproportionate with 95% of all malaria cases and reported deaths in Sub-Saharan African countries affecting equitable socio-economic development.
To disrupt transmission, it is of paramount importance to improve disease surveillance and prevention programs. The wide range of strategies to prevent malaria (from vector control to preventive chemotherapy and/or the first malaria vaccine) make it necessary to have a multidisciplinary approach targeting disease vectors and causative parasites.
Given the wealth of knowledge on disease vectors and newer treatment regimens, malaria has been cornered, yet reaching the last mile to elimination is beset with several constraints. New challenges are emerging that have made the fight against malaria formidable. Between 2020 and 2021, during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, malaria treatment was disrupted in several locations amounting to an additional 13 million cases and 63,000 deaths than previous year. In 2021, there were an estimated 247 million cases in some 84 countries reporting a slight increase from 245 million cases in 2020. Amidst several challenges, a shift in mosquito vector behavior evading insecticide exposure and development and spread of multi-insecticide resistance have made malaria elimination a herculean task.
In keeping with World Malaria Day 2023 theme, “Ready to Beat Malaria”, Frontiers is launching a drive for article collection to help mount a decisive attack to defeat malaria. This occasion not only offers an opportunity to acknowledge the increase in awareness and information about malaria but also to consider the importance of political will to increase investments in newer vector control tools, diagnostic and anti-malaria medicines.
The Frontiers in Public Health Research Topic aims to address the public-health-specific dimensions of this UN day. Topics may include, but are by no means limited to:
• Malaria awareness strategies enhancing program reach
• Malaria disease surveillance
• Malaria control programs and intervention strategies
• Malaria prevention programs using vector-control strategies (including mosquito nets, insecticide-treated nets and indoor residual spraying)
• Preventative chemotherapy as a prevention strategy
• Studies about the malaria vaccine in different populations
• Challenges in malaria surveillance and control linked to the COVID-19 pandemic
• Insecticide resistance and spread
• Invasive mosquito vector species and emerging challenges
