Today is World Malaria Day

Almost half the world’s population – an estimated three billion people – live in areas where malaria is transmitted. Endemic to 107 countries in the tropics and subtropics, it is responsible for around one million deaths globally every year, with sub-Saharan Africa the hardest hit. Most shockingly, despite the fact that malaria is both a preventable and curable disease, around 800,000 of those deaths occur among African children under five-years-old, according to UNICEF.

World Malaria Day was instituted by WHO Member States during the 2007 World Health Assembly. It is an occasion to highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment for malaria prevention and control. It is also an opportunity for new donors to join the global malaria partnership, and for research and academic institutions to showcase their scientific work.

However, what many people may not be aware of is exactly how malaria interacts with other infectious diseases, particularly HIV. Although anyone can get malaria, in parts of the world where both malaria and HIV are widespread, people can easily become co-infected with both diseases. This is potentially a very dangerous situation since HIV positive people are far more vulnerable to developing infections or more severe forms of malaria because their weak immune system simply cannot respond to the disease effectively. Symptoms last much longer than in people who do not carry HIV, and can also have harmful effects on the accelerated progression of HIV.

It is common knowledge that malaria in pregnant women results in higher rates of miscarriage and low birth weight, as well as causing severe anaemia in new-born children which leads to low birth weight, growth retardation and potentially long term cognitive and developmental impairment. Imagine if you are also HIV positive. Pregnant women who are living with HIV are at even further risk, not only because of the mother can pass malaria on to her baby, but because the impact of malaria on the placenta actually increases the risk of transmitting HIV to the foetus. This is why my work now focuses on integrated approaches to community health instead of working on preventing and treating one disease or virus in isolation.