WORLD MALARIA DAY: Eliminating Malaria In Africa; Six African Nations Could Be Malaria-Free By 2020: WHO

Science Library Photo

Malaria could be wiped out from six African states by 2020, the World Health Organization has said in a report published to mark World Malaria Day. 

BBC Africa Live report continues:

The six include South Africa, where the number of cases have fallen from 64,000 in 2000 to 11,700 in 2014. 

"Through targeted action and cross-border collaboration, South Africa has the potential to eliminate malaria by 2020," the WHO report said.    

Other countries where the disease could be eradicated by 2020 include Algeria, Botswana, Cape Verde, Comoros and Swaziland, it added. 

The only African state which did not record a case of malaria in 2014 was Morocco, the WHO said.

"Since the year 2000, malaria mortality rates have declined by 60% globally. In the WHO African region, malaria mortality rates fell by 66% among all age groups and by 71% among children under 5 years," it added. 

Six African Nations Could Be Malaria-Free By 2020: WHO

South Africa could be one of six African countries that could be free of malaria by 2020, according to a WHO report ©Alexander Joe (AFP)

Six countries in Africa, the continent where malaria is most widespread, could be free of the disease by 2020, according to a WHO report published Monday to mark World Malaria Day.

One of the goals of the World Health Organization's 2016-2030 programme against malaria is to wipe out the disease in at least 10 countries by the end of this decade.

"WHO estimates that 21 countries are in a position to achieve this goal, including six countries in the African Region, where the burden of the disease is heaviest," the Geneva-based organization said in a statement.

These countries are Algeria, Botswana, Cape Verde, Comoros, South Africa and Swaziland.

In South Africa the elimination of malaria is a public health objective. The country registered 11,700 cases of the disease in 2014 -- down from 64,000 in 2000 -- with most diagnoses coming from areas bordering Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.

"Through targeted action and cross-border collaboration, South Africa has the potential to eliminate malaria by 2020," the WHO report said.

The other countries the organization believes could achieve this objective are China, Malaysia and South Korea, eight Latin American nations (Costa Rica, Belize, El Salvador, Mexico, Argentina, Paraguay, Ecuador and Suriname), as well as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Oman, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Timor-Leste and Nepal.

Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus eradicated malaria in 2015, according to a WHO report published earlier this month.

Some 214 million people suffered from malaria last year of which 438,000 died from the disease, according to the organization.

Nine out of 10 deaths from the disease in 2015 came from sub-Saharan Africa, the report said.

Factfile on malaria ©Adrian Leung/John Saeki (AFP)