Plus Project reposted this
Encouraging to see this year's world malaria report framing around equity. WHO highlights progress in prevention, with 53 million children reached by seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) in 2023, up from just 170,000 in 2012. However, 35 million children under 2 live in areas with year-round malaria transmission and are not eligible for SMC. Only 4 million received perennial malaria chemoprevention (PMC) to date, and our work under the Unitaid Plus Project is addressing these gaps by supporting endemic countries to integrate PMC alongside vaccines and health services, ensuring underserved populations have equitable access to life-saving malaria prevention tools. #WMR2024 #Unitaid #PSI
The fight against malaria is also a fight for equity. On the heels of the World Health Organization's World Malaria Report, we call attention to the equity gap in chemoprevention services for children across malaria transmission settings. While seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) is a proven, effective prevention tool, it doesn't reach children in areas with year-round (perennial) transmission. To close this gap, the World Health Organization recommended perennial malaria chemoprevention (PMC) in 2022 for children in areas with moderate to high perennial transmission. However, implementation has yet to match the urgency of the need. Ensuring that every child—regardless of where they live—has access to life-saving malaria prevention requires collaboration across health systems, governments, and communities. Malaria doesn’t discriminate, and neither should prevention efforts. #HealthEquity #Malaria #MalariaPrevention #Equity #HealthForAll #GlobalHealth #EndMalaria
