LILONGWE, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Malawi has reduced malaria deaths by about 49 percent from 3,613 in 2017 to 1,829 in 2022, Deputy Minister of Health Halima Daudi said on Tuesday in the capital of Lilongwe as the country marked World Malaria Day.

But the deputy minister said although the country has made such strides, malaria continues to create a huge workload for health workers and pressure on drugs at all health facilities.

She said the disease contributes to 19 percent of all out-patient cases and nine percent of all admissions in the country's health facilities. "Though preventable and treatable, malaria tops the list as a leading cause of deaths in Malawi, claiming about five lives each day, mostly under-five children due to late presentation for care."

She said the Malawian government is committed to sustaining and further expanding existing and new World Health Organisation (WHO)-recommended malaria control and elimination interventions, including the promotion of consistent use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

According to Daudi, in 2021, through the insecticide-treated mosquito nets mass distribution campaign, the Malawian government distributed 10.7 million treated bed nets to households across the country.

She added that the campaign was complemented by Indoor Residual Spraying in the country's four malaria-prone districts of Nkhotakota, Mangochi, Balaka, and Nkhata Bay.

Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo, the WHO country representative for Malawi, called on all stakeholders to take advantage of World Malaria Day to "renew political commitments and bolster investments in malaria prevention and control."

Kimambo noted that since 2019, nearly 1.5 million children in Malawi have been reached with at least one dose of malaria vaccine through the ongoing pilot introductions in three countries of Malawi, Kenya, and Ghana.

She said although progress has been made, malaria remains a significant public health and development challenge not just in Malawi but the whole of sub-Saharan Africa.

"Our region continues to be hardest hit by this deadly disease partly because too many people do not have access to preventive and curative interventions. Nearly 30 percent of the population in most African countries cannot access essential health services, and most people face unacceptably high expenditures on health care," said the WHO country representative.

She further pledged the WHO's continued support in providing the required technical guidance and support to the Malawian government in fighting malaria. Enditem

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