Each year on April 25, the NICD joins the global community in recognising World Malaria Day.
This year’s theme will focus on ‘Accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable world’.
The Department of Health says South Africa is on track to achieve malaria elimination status by 2028, as outlined in the National Malaria Elimination Strategic Plan.
This, according to the department, is despite facing challenges such as heightened heatwaves exacerbated by climate change, with the potential to directly impact transmission and the burden of disease.
According to the department, malaria elimination promises both health and economic benefits, in line with the goals of the 2030 National Development Plan and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
“This has the potential to also benefit the Southern African countries collectively on issues of trade, tourism, health, and economic growth,” the statement read.
While progress has been made in reducing the burden of malaria in provinces such as Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal, the department believes further efforts are needed to curb local transmission.
South Africa is today joining the global community to observe World Malaria Day to recognise global efforts to control malaria to reduce the burden of the disease and avoid preventable deaths.
SA MALARIA STATISTICS
According to the NICD, Africa bears more than 90% of the global malaria burden, with one child dying every minute from malaria – a preventable and treatable disease.
The NICD said that in South Africa, cases of malaria are associated either with local transmission of the malaria parasite in areas of the Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal provinces, or exposure to malaria parasites in travellers to other endemic regions returning to South Africa.
According to a report on malaria case trends based on notifications captured through the Notifiable Medical Conditions Surveillance System (NMC-SS) from September 2022 to August 2023, the majority of malaria cases in South Africa came from the malaria-endemic province of Limpopo.
Data reveals that 5 813 cases were recorded of which 2 845 were logged in Limpopo.
Meanwhile, Gauteng reported the second-highest number of cases, all of which were associated with imported malaria.
In contrast, the national public health institute said KwaZulu-Natal reported the lowest number of infections sitting at 424 among the endemic provinces.
“In KwaZulu-Natal, nearly all of the cases reported were imported cases, supporting claims that the province is edging closer to halting local transmission of malaria,” the NICD explained.
As per the NICD, peaks in malaria notifications typically follow periods of increased national and international travel to malaria-endemic regions.
Data also shows that economically active young males, especially those aged between 20 and 39 years, appeared to be the most at risk population group, a trend observed in other low transmission areas.
“These findings emphasise the importance of targeting young males with messaging during major holidays and strengthening malaria test-and-treat activities along shared international borders.”