Note by the Secretary-General
The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the General Assembly the report of the Director-General of the World Health Organization, submitted in accordance with General Assembly resolution 70/300.
Report of the Director-General of the World Health Organization on consolidating gains and accelerating efforts to control and eliminate malaria in developing countries, particularly in Africa, by 2030
Summary
The present report is submitted in response to General Assembly resolution 70/300. It provides a review of progress in the implementation of the resolution, focusing on the adoption and scaling-up of interventions recommended by the World Health Organization in malaria-endemic countries. It provides an assessment of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and resolution 70/300. It elaborates on the challenges limiting the full achievement of the targets, and provides recommendations to ensure that progress is accelerated towards the goals of the Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030 in the coming years.
I. Introduction
1. While malaria is a preventable and treatable disease, it continues to have a devastating impact on people’s health and livelihoods around the world. There were an estimated 212 million malaria cases and an estimated 429,000 deaths from malaria globally in 2015, with 70 per cent of these deaths occurring among children under 5 years of age in sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a multi-pronged strategy to reduce the malaria burden, including vector control interventions, preventive therapies, diagnostic testing, quality-assured treatment and strong malaria surveillance.
2. The present report highlights progress and challenges in the control and elimination of malaria in the context of General Assembly resolution 70/300, drawing on the World Malaria Report 2016, issued by WHO in December 2016. The analysis is based on the latest available comprehensive data (2015) received from malaria-endemic countries and organizations supporting global malaria efforts. Data from 2016 are currently being collected and reviewed by WHO.
3. Between 2000 and 2015, malaria received worldwide recognition as a priority global health issue. Under the umbrella of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, endemic countries, United Nations agencies, bilateral donors, public-private partnerships, scientific organizations, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector worked together to scale up WHO-recommended interventions, harmonize activities and improve strategic planning, programme management and funding availability. Together with HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other neglected tropical diseases, malaria control was included under Goal 3, target 3, of the Sustainable Development Goals, which aims to “end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other neglected tropical diseases” by the year 2030. WHO interprets this target as the attainment of the targets of the Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030. The Global Technical Strategy sets the target of reducing the malaria disease burden by at least 40 per cent by 2020 and by at least 90 per cent by 2030. It also aims to eliminate the disease in at least 35 new countries by 2030.
4. The success of efforts to control and eliminate malaria is measured through an analysis of trends in the disease burden and intervention scale-up, and a review of progress made towards the global goals and targets of the Global Technical Strategy, which were agreed through a broad, consultative process.