The suspension of USAID contributes to conditions where the infection of over 13 million people on the African continent will not be prevented.
Transmitted by UNN with reference to The Lancet, El Pais and Financial Times.
Details
Over 13 million people in Africa could contract malaria due to proposed US cuts. A study published in The Lancet highlights concerns about the health impact of drastic cuts in development aid from Washington and some European capitals.
If the US President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), which began in 2005 under George W. Bush, continued without interruption and with a full budget, then by 2025, 13 million cases of the disease would have been prevented and over 104,000 lives saved.
However, these expectations are unlikely to materialize due to the suspension of USAID, the US development agency that managed and executed most of the program's tasks.
Explains Peter Gething, senior author of the study and co-leader of the Malaria Atlas Project at the Australian Institute for Children's Research.
International aid budgets are under increasing pressure, and difficult decisions need to be made to protect the progress made. .. Our estimates show that a fully funded PMI could prevent almost 14 million cases of malaria and save over 100,000 lives in Africa this year, protecting vulnerable populations through bed nets, insecticide spraying, and antimalarial drugs.
Context
The PMI initiative was launched under President George W. Bush in the mid-2000s. During the program's operation, investments of over $9 billion passed through the US Agency for International Development.
In 2024, Congress allocated about $800 million to the President's Malaria Initiative.
This year, the Trump administration proposes to cut its annual budget by 47%.
Reference
Malaria is the deadliest mosquito-borne disease in the world.
In 2023, 263 million new cases were reported in 83 countries – 11 million more than in 2022 – and 597,000 people died
At the same time, 94% of cases and 95% of deaths were concentrated in Africa.
Achievements and plans
The Lancet study examines the projected contribution of a fully funded PMI to crucial malaria control measures. These include:
- insecticide-treated bed nets;
- preventive treatment for children during the peak malaria season;
- routine treatment.
It was found that this year, PMI will account for a significant portion of the overall response to malaria in 27 African countries.
In 2025, there is a chance to prevent approximately over 11% of cases and 37.5% of deaths that would otherwise occur.
International efforts have helped significantly reduce malaria mortality, although children under five years old still account for three-quarters of deaths in Africa.
Recall
In 2024, the World Health Organization investigated a disease outbreak in Congo, which was associated with such known and quite acute viral infectious manifestations as:
- acute pneumonia;
- influenza;
- Covid-19;
- measles;
- malaria.