One Health Perspective of Malaria Transmission

Abstract

Global efforts towards malaria control and elimination are promising. Despite this, current alterations in transmission continue to modify and frustrate such effort. In 2020 and 2021, malaria transmissions increased significantly. While 2021 showed a decline in malaria deaths by 6000 (1%), the numbers were still 51,000 (9%) higher than malaria deaths in 2019. Two-thirds of the contributing factors were attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, thus demonstrating the capability of future pandemics and zoonotic diseases to stagger or derail earned achievements towards malaria elimination. Compounded by zoonotic and environmental factors that promote malaria transmission, there will be a need for relevant modelling and an update on current and past disease distribution information and will also be required to shape policy actions and to improve public health decision-making on malaria. These will help strengthen the evidence for the adoption of relevant implementation strategies to aid the 2030 vision of eliminating malaria a reality.