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With World Mosquito Day this week, we take a look at a disease they carry: malaria, a silent but lethal killer.

Malaria is on the move

Shark attacks get a lot of headlines (and even their own popular TV series). But Mosquito Week quietly happens every week in many parts of the world. Mosquitos kill more people in one day than sharks have killed in the last 100 years. The vast majority of those are young children in Africa: half a million children under age 5 in Africa die each year from malaria.

I contracted malaria one summer while living in Uganda. It was eye-opening to physically experience the aches, pains, and fears associated with a deadly disease that is commonplace in Uganda and other warm, humid countries. It was heart-wrenching to attend the funerals of young children in the village who succumbed to malaria.

I am fortunate to currently live in a place that’s malaria-free. But that very well could change in the foreseeable future, thanks to climate change. The disease that’s been a constant spectre in tropical places is on the move, and soon fewer people will live in places where malaria is someone else’s concern.

– Joe Kraus, Aftershocks Editor

3 things to know

1. Mosquitoes are on the march. More than 5 billion people could be at risk of contracting malaria globally by 2040, thanks in part to climate change. That’s up from 3.3 billion people today. Changes in temperature and rainfall are expanding the map of where malaria can survive and thrive. That includes places – like Australia, Europe, and North America – where malaria was once endemic but successfully eradicated. Perhaps not for much longer.

Source: Our World in Data

Why it matters: Since 2000, malaria interventions have prevented over 2 billion cases and nearly 12 million deaths. But climate change, conflict, the pandemic, and drug resistance have slowed progress in recent years. Malaria still kills over 600,000 people each year; 95% of those deaths are in Africa. That will likely change as climate change makes other parts of the world more hospitable for the female Anopheles mosquito, which carries and transmits the malaria parasite.

2. Mosquitoes have killed more people than all wars combined. Malaria has killed over 210 million people since 1900. That far exceeds the number of people killed in all wars combined dating back to at least 900 AD (151 million). And that doesn’t even count the deaths from other mosquito-borne diseases like dengue, yellow fever, and Zika.

Why it matters: For such a successful killer, malaria garners relatively little attention in the West, where pharmaceutical companies’ research agendas are guided by profits. The drug company Novo Nordisk, for instance, spent over US$10 billion to develop the weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. That’s FOUR TIMES the total global investment to develop malaria vaccines over the past 15 years, most of that (79%) by public and philanthropic organisations. 🥴 Don’t be surprised to see that change as malaria starts infecting people in Europe and North America.

Source: dogmo dog

3. Heroes don’t always wear capes. Sometimes they’re dressed as syringes. Two new malaria vaccines may prove game-changers in the centuries-long battle against one of the world’s deadliest parasites. The first malaria vaccine, Mosquirix (also called RTS,S), received WHO approval in 2021. 18 million doses are expected to be produced over the next two years, far below the 60 million doses that countries have preordered. Last year, the WHO approved a second malaria vaccine, R21/Matrix-M. It has a 75% efficacy (much higher than Mosquirix’s 30%), and is easier and less costly to manufacture. The Serum Institute of India has the capacity to produce 100 million doses annually, and plans to double that in two years. 🥳

Why it matters: Reducing malaria cases by 90% by 2030 could save millions of lives and increase Africa’s GDP by US$126 billion. Earlier this year, Cameroon became the first country to include malaria vaccines in its routine childhood immunisation program. 18 other African countries plan to roll out malaria vaccines in 2024. While the vaccines took 30 years to develop, their rapid rollout is a testament to Gavi and its role in ensuring equitable access to life-saving vaccines. Gavi’s next challenge: secure funding to continue helping transform Africa’s public health systems. Its once-every-five years financing replenishment will likely take place in early 2025.

From the ONE Team

• How malaria shaped the course of human physiology and history.
• Micaela Iveson on why credit ratings keep her up at night.

The numbers

• 16.5 million people have died from malaria since 2000.
• 25°C / 77°F: The temperature at which malaria-carrying mosquitoes thrive.
• US$161 million: The average annual amount spent on research and development for malaria vaccines between 2007 and 2022.

Quote of the week

“Efforts to fight malaria are at this crossroads and have been seriously challenged by climate change.”

— Sherwin Charles, the co-founder of Goodbye Malaria

What you should read, watch, and listen to:

• Where malaria is spreading.
• Can Africa fix its credit rating problem?

A look ahead

25-29 August: World Water Week 2024

The ONE Campaign’s data.one.org provides cutting edge data and analysis on the economic, political, and social changes impacting Africa. Check it out HERE.

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