Malaria is the most widespread and most important single disease entity of the tropics with its morbidity at unacceptable high levels in the region (Okocha et al., 2005). It is estimated that the population at risk is about 2.6 billion with 100 million clinical cases and about one million fatalities per year (White et al., 1993). Another report by Snow (2005) estimated that 515 million cases occur each year especially young children in Sub-Saharan Africa (Snow et al., 2005).
Most of the malaria cases in the world (about 90%) occur in Africa. This has serious implications as it leads to loss of man hours and decrease in national productivity. It has been established that malaria causes about 250 million cases of fever and approximately one million deaths annually. The vast majority of cases
occur in children under 5 years of age (Greenwood et al., 2005). Pregnant women are also especially vulnerable. Despite efforts to reduce transmission and increase treatment, there has been little change in those areas that are at risk of this disease since 1992. Indeed, if the prevalence of malaria stays on its present upward course, the death rate could double in the next twenty years (Breman, 2001). The precise statistics are unknown because many cases occur in rural areas where people do not have access to hospitals or the means to afford health care. Consequently, the majority of the cases are undocumented (Breman, 2001). Also the co-infection of HIV and malaria do contribute to each other’s spread. This effect comes from malaria increasing viral load and HIV infection increasing a person’s susceptibility to malaria infection (Abu-Raddab et al., 2006).
In terms of socio-economic effect, malaria is not only associated with poverty, but also a cause of it and a major hindrance to economic development. The tropical regions are affected most; however malaria’s furtherest extent reaches into some temperate zones with extreme seasonal changes. The disease has been associated with major negative economic effect on regions where it is widespread. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was a major factor in the slow economic development of the American Southern States (Humphreys, 2001).
In countries where malaria is common, average per capita GDP has risen. Poverty is both cause and effect, however, since the poor do not have the financial capacities to prevent or treat the disease. The lowest income group in Malawi carries the burden of having 32% of their annual income used on this disease compared with the 4% of household incomes from low to high groups. In its entirety, the economic impact of malaria has been estimated to cost Africa 12 billion US dollars every year. The economic impact includes cost of health care, working days lost due to illness, days lost in education, decreased productivity due to brain damage from cerebral malaria, and loss of investment and tourism (Greenwood et al., 2005).
In some countries with a heavy malaria burden, the disease may account for as much as 40% of public health expenditure, 30-50% of inpatient admission, and up to 50% of outpatient visits. The extensive use of antimalaria campaigns in recent decades seeks to address the correlation between the disease and poverty (WHO, 2006).
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