OIC member states account for almost half of all Malaria cases worldwide - RBM

NEW YORK, June 22 (KUNA) -- A new study by Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership on Sunday revealed that 238 million malaria cases, nearly half of malaria cases worldwide, are found in member states belonging to the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The study said 12 OIC countries are among the 20 most malaria-affected nations worldwide that account for nearly 80 percent of global cases, including Nigeria, Uganda, Sudan, Niger, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and Cameroon.
Nigeria alone accounts for one quarter of all malaria cases in Africa, with 97 percent of the population at risk and more malaria deaths in the country than any other in Africa, the study noted, adding that Afhganistan, Indonesia and Pakistan are the OIC countries with the highest number of malaria cases.
"We have seen tremendous progress against malaria in recent years, including in several countries in the OIC," said Herve Verhoosel, RBM Representative at the UN, adding that many OIC countries have allocated international aid and domestic resources to malaria-control efforts.
However, he added, economic challenges threaten that progress, with USD 1.7 billion shortage for OIC countries in sub-Saharan Africa alone, urging leaders to fill in the gap and increase commitment so that communities may thrive.
He expressed satisfaction that OIC ministers reaffirmed on more than one occasion their commitment to work together to fight the treatable disease, and as a result, he noted, "notable progress" was achieved with seven OIC member states are now malaria-free, including the United Arab Emirates and Morocco.
The Study said that in 2007, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) launched the Malaria-free Arabian Peninsula Initiative to eliminate malaria from Yemen after successfully eliminating it from the six Gulf countries, in light of regional migration due to labour and pilgrimage across the peninsula.
The latest statistics show that because of increased financing and collaboration, malaria death rates have decreased by approximately 42 percent globally and 49 percent in Africa alone, the study noted.
Nevertheless, almost half of the world's population remains at risk from the disease, with an estimated 207 million cases of infection around the world each year and over 600,000 deaths.
RBM, the world's coordinating mechanism for the response to malaria, estimates that USD 5.1 billion needed annually through 2020 to roll back malaria globally. Less than half of that amount is currently being spent, but it is obviously not enough to eradicate the disease, the study said. (end) sj.bs