Latest news with #Anophelesstephensi
IOL News
07-05-2025
- Health
- IOL News
Will climate change turn South Africa into a risky malaria zone?
With the World Health Organisation reporting 95% of malaria deaths in Africa in 2023 and outbreaks emerging in non-endemic regions, the message is clear: we must reinvest, reimagine and reignite the fight. Increased domestic funding, innovative partnerships and full replenishment of the Global Fund are critical now more than ever. Climate change is redrawing the malaria map, driving transmission into parts of Africa previously considered low-risk and threatening to undo decades of progress. With rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, and extreme weather events creating ideal breeding conditions for mosquitoes, the threat is evolving and spreading. Goodbye Malaria is calling for urgent increased investment, warning that environmental changes are fuelling a resurgence of malaria by expanding mosquito breeding grounds and straining the already limited resources available to fight the disease. Without reinvestment, we risk losing the fight against malaria as fragile health systems struggle to keep up with the growing demand for prevention, treatment, and control in an increasingly unpredictable climate. 'Great progress was initially made against malaria, with the global mortality rate halved between 2000 and 2015.. 'Since then however, we've seen progressing plateauing mainly as a result of significant funding gaps, conflict zones and climate change,' said CEO and co-founder of Goodbye Malaria , Sherwin Charles. Rising temperatures are expanding the range in which malaria-carrying mosquitoes can survive and reproduce. Warmer conditions allow mosquitoes to move into higher altitudes and previously temperate regions, including parts of South Africa, Ethiopia, and Kenya. Anopheles stephensi, a mosquito species native to South Asia and the Middle East, has been detected in African urban centres. Unlike traditional malaria vectors, these mosquitoes bite during the day and breed in artificial water containers, making control efforts significantly more complex. Heavy rains and flooding have created new breeding grounds, while droughts followed by intense storms, result in stagnant pools that facilitate mosquito reproduction. Cyclones and other severe weather disrupt health systems by damaging infrastructure and cutting off access to prevention and treatment tools. In regions already struggling with weak health systems and limited resources, these impacts are especially dangerous. In southern Mozambique, where years of consistent vector control had brought local transmission close to zero, recent flooding and delayed delivery of supplies caused a resurgence of cases. South Africa is also experiencing shifting transmission patterns. On 17 April, news reports revealed the country is on high alert for malaria cases due to outbreaks in Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. Health officials called for vigilance, especially from travellers. 'Johannesburg, not traditionally a malaria-endemic region, has had an unusually wet summer, and malaria cases are ticking up in certain areas. South Africans often don't recognise the threat unless they've travelled to a known malaria area,' says Charles. 'As climate impacts, we need to move from seasonal caution to year-round awareness.' Malaria is particularly dangerous for young children and pregnant women, who are less able to fight off the parasite. In 2023, Africa accounted for 95% of global malaria deaths, according to the World Health Organization's 2024 Malaria Report. Malaria-endemic countries like Malawi and Mozambique have seen further increases following recent climate-related disasters such as Cyclone Freddy. Despite the challenges, new innovations like spatial emanator and drug compounds could become powerful tools in the fight against malaria. However, deploying such tools at scale requires innovative finance and user acceptability. Achieving a malaria-free world will require sustained investment in proven interventions – underpinned by strong political will, increased domestic funding from malaria-affected countries, and robust international partnerships. This includes full replenishment of the Global Fund and Gavi, rethinking strategies to address persistent challenges, and reigniting momentum to accelerate progress toward elimination. 'Innovation is only useful if it reaches the people who need it most. Without sustained investment, more lives will be at risk,' said Charles. The economic argument for malaria elimination is compelling. A recent report by Oxford Economics Africa, commissioned by Malaria No More UK, found that reducing malaria incidence and mortality by 90% by 2030 could unlock $142.7 billion in GDP gains for endemic countries and drive $80 billion in global trade. But the international funding gap is growing. The Roll Back Malaria Partnership says the world needs $18.2 billion between 2024 and 2026 to fight malaria, but only 58%, or $10.6 billion, is currently financed. Goodbye Malaria is urging a renewed commitment from global donors, the private sector, and governments alike. 'Malaria is relentless. It evolves, migrates, and moves faster than the systems designed to stop it,' says Charles. 'Without sustained leadership and increased investment, we risk reversing decades of progress. We've seen what works including innovative tools, community-led interventions, and cross-sector partnerships, but current investment with no urgency will see a malaria resurgence. Now is the time to act decisively.'
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Experts alarmed as US abruptly halts life-saving support: 'The suddenness of this is huge'
U.S. funding for malaria aid and research is on hold, prompting concerns for public health. The United States has supplied around 40% of global funding for malaria aid and research, according to the Philippines-based news site As the Trump administration vows to pull out from international aid, experts are worried about the effect this could have on the fight against this life-threatening disease in Africa, where new variants and signs of drug and insecticide resistance have emerged. As a result of the funding cuts, the Malaria Consortium has already fired staff in Mozambique and halted a program in Asia that trained people to monitor and control mosquitoes. "The suddenness of this is huge," James Tibenderana, the organization's chief executive, told the news site. The World Health Organization estimates that malaria kills around 597,000 globally each year, with 95% of those occurring in Africa. Children under five years old account for 76% of deaths in the region. Meanwhile, malaria looks to become even more problematic. For one, the Asia-native Anopheles stephensi mosquito has started to spread across East Africa, reported. This species thrives in urban environments, putting an additional 126 million African people at risk for the disease, according to a 2020 study cited by the publication. In addition, an overheating planet is contributing to the expansion of malaria-carrying mosquitoes into new territories. For instance, one report found that malaria risk zones are expanding into higher elevations in the Ethiopian Highlands, a region of high-altitude plateaus and mountains reaching above 14,000 feet. In the face of funding cuts from the U.S., Tibenderana said he hopes that other governments and institutions, such as the World Bank, will step up. This could help public health advocates continue with important projects across the region such as the implementation of anti-mosquito bed nets that were estimated to have saved 25,000 lives in Burkina Faso, Benin, Côte d'Ivoire during a test period. Do you think misinformation is a major problem in America today? Definitely Only for some people Only with certain issues Not really Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Meanwhile, scientists are exploring methods to help cull mosquito populations. For instance, one team found a way to infect male mosquitoes of one malaria-carrying species with a fungus that kills biting females soon after mating. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
US aid cuts come at deadly moment for malaria control
The sudden freezing of US aid to malaria projects comes as deadly new variants are spreading in Africa and could have a devastating impact, the head of a major NGO told AFP. The US government has provided some 40 percent of the annual funding globally for control and research into a disease that causes more than 600,000 deaths from 250 million cases each year -- mostly in Africa. That funding, of up to $1 billion a year, is now frozen as part of President Donald Trump's plan to axe foreign aid. "We did try to anticipate in advance of this, but I think even our worst case scenarios have been surpassed," said James Tibenderana, chief executive of the London-based Malaria Consortium that runs projects around the world. The Malaria Consortium has already been forced to fire staff working on a programme in Mozambique and halt a programme in Asia training people to monitor and control mosquitoes. Only five percent of its funding comes from the US government, but Tibenderana said US cuts would hit the entire sector. "It's just so disruptive, so sudden," he said. He highlighted that it came at a moment when the first signs of drug- and insecticide-resistance had started to emerge. "The clock is ticking for drug resistance in Africa," he said. "The early signs of resistance to the artemisinin-based combination therapy medicine, which is the mainstay of treatment for malaria, are emerging." He pointed to reports from Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda. US-funded organisations have been the major player in monitoring this emergence through genome-mapping and drug-effectiveness studies. Without them, it will be "hard to detect at the scale that was possible with US government funding", said Tibenderana. - 'Through the woodchipper' - It also comes as an invasive mosquito species from Asia -- Anopheles stephensi -- has started spreading in East Africa. It thrives in urban areas and is immune to insecticide, potentially putting an additional 126 million people in Africa's cities at risk of malaria, according to one 2020 study. "The invasion and spread of Anopheles stephensi has the potential to change the malaria landscape in Africa and reverse decades of progress we've made towards malaria control," Meera Venkatesan, who was then malaria division chief for USAID, told AFP in November. Her division has now been shuttered along with the rest of USAID by Trump, with his billionaire ally Elon Musk boasting this week that he had put the vast humanitarian agency "through the woodchipper". Funding cuts will hit supply chains, rural hospitals and programmes to buy the latest mosquito nets. They will force poor families into debt when they need to send their children to hospital, said Tibenderana. Children under five account for around 80 percent of malaria deaths in Africa, according to the World Health Organization. Tibenderana hoped other governments and institutions such as the World Bank will step in, though he knows resources are scarce. He compared the US funding freezing to the recent pandemic. "We have to respond as we did with the Covid-19 pandemic, where there was a threat and people stepped up," he said. "But the suddenness of this is huge." er/jxb/rsc
