The World Health Organization has warned that deaths from malaria due to disruptions during the covid-19 pandemic will far exceed those killed by the coronavirus.
On Monday, in its latest reports, the WHO said more than 409,000 people globally – most of them babies in the poorest areas of Africa – were killed by Malaria last year. Also stating that the interruption of the pandemic will only make the death toll higher.
Pedro Alonso, Director of WHO malaria program, speaking to reporters said “our estimates are that depending on level of service disruption (due to covid-19), there could be an excess of malaria deaths of somewhere between 20,000 to 100,000 in sub-Saharan Africa, most of them young children”.
The WHO report also found there were 229 million malaria cases globally in 2019.
