Malaria Programming

Though eliminated in some parts of the world decades ago, malaria remains a significant public health problem threatening half the world’s population, with 627,000 deaths in 2020 (WHO). The availability of simple, cost-effective interventions to prevent and treat the disease, including long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), has led to a 60 percent decrease in malaria mortality rates since 2000, but progress in recent years has stalled, with the number of cases worldwide remained virtually unchanged at 229 million over each of the past four years.

Malaria disproportionately affects the poor and most marginalized communities as they are high risk and have the least access to effective services. Due to more vulnerable immune systems, children under 5 years old, pregnant women, and people living with HIV and AIDS are more susceptible to malaria. In 2020, children under 5 years accounted for 77% of all malaria deaths worldwide. A child dies of malaria every 2 minutes.

World Vision is following through on its commitment to fight malaria until it is defeated. Prevention and treatment for malaria is woven into our core global health strategy. In areas where malaria is an issue we work to assure that families – especially mothers and children under age 5 – are sleeping under an insecticide treated bednet. We also work to strengthen health systems to make sure families have access to proper diagnosis, treatment and care, including Integrated Community Case Management (iCCM) where diagnosis and treatment is carried out by community health workers. Other interventions include promotion of intermittent presumptive treatment for pregnant women, indoor residential spraying of insecticides (IRS), and environmental hygiene interventions where we address the sanitation issues that create breeding grounds for malaria-carrying mosquitoes.

THE MALARIA VACCINE

In October 2021, the World Health Organization recommended that the RTS,S malaria vaccine be used for the prevention of malaria in children living in regions with moderate to high transmission, based on results of the ongoing 2019 research pilot project, which has reached 900,000 children in Ghana, Kenya and Malawi. While the pilot projects are ongoing to 2023, World Vision fully supports promotion of the RTS,S vaccine because it has proven to be safe, effective, feasible and practical.

WORLD VISION'S MALARIA INVESTMENTS THROUGH THE GLOBAL FUND

In 2020, World Vision:

Distributed more than 13.8 million long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets (ITBNs) in three countries.
Trained 46,490 people in malaria service delivery, including Community Health Workers, teachers and volunteers.
Reached 5.6 million people with Information, Education and Communication materials on malaria
Provided first-line malaria treatment for individuals at public health facilities (4.8 million) and in the community (829,000)
Parasitological testing of individuals for malaria at public health facilities (2.4 million) and in the community (1.1 million)
9,876 community groups formed and/or supported on malaria prevention and care
Reached 836,370 households with Indoor Residual Spraying in Malawi and Central Africa Republic

In Central African Republic and Mozambique, World Vision's ITBN distribution in 2020 saved an estimated 25,797 children’s lives.

In the past five years, World Vision's Global Fund programmes have achieved the following:

54,533,053 million ITBNs distributed
1,421,350 households received Indoor Residue Spraying for malaria vector control
6,519,803 suspected malaria cases received a parasitological test at the community level
6,521,416 confirmed malaria cases received first-line antimalarial treatment in the community