Global deaths from malaria, as well as the number of overall malaria cases, have reduced dramatically in the last thirteen years, the World Health Organization said in a statement on Tuesday.
According to the World Malaria Report 2014, the mortality rate for the disease decreased by 47% worldwide since 2000, and the number of people infected by it went from 173 million the same year to 128 million in 2013.
“We have the right tools and our defenses are working,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan. “But we still need to get those tools to a lot more people if we are to make these gains sustainable.”
The report attributed the progress combating malaria to increased access to insecticide-treated mosquito nets and enhanced diagnostics and treatment, but admitted that there is still a lot of work to be done.
The increased susceptibility to the disease in Ebola-affected countries like Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone is an added cause for concern.
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Write to Rishi Iyengar at rishi.iyengar@timeasia.com