Authorities in Somalia Hail Progress in Malaria Fight

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA - As the world marks World Malaria Day (April 25), several African countries continue to battle the impact of a preventable disease claiming thousands of lives. In sub-Saharan Africa alone, malaria has claimed an estimated 380,000 lives in 2018 according to the World Health Organization (WHO). But there are some signs of hope in Somalia.

This year’s theme was reaching the “Zero Malaria” target as the WHO celebrated the achievement of those countries that are on the verge of eliminating the disease. While Somalia is still not malaria-free, the country’s authorities say there has been some progress in the past three years in decreasing the number of deaths from the disease. That is welcome news for the Horn of Africa nation struggling to curb other challenges, including drought and lack of security.   Dr. Ali Abdulrahman, manager of Somalia’s national malaria control department,  pointed out that deaths from malaria have declined, from 31 in 2018, 22 in 2019 to five last year.