Congo, Nigeria And India Malaria Hardest-Hit Countries – WHO

[Shola Sholaz]

The fight against malaria has saved 3.3 million lives worldwide since 2000 but the mosquito-borne disease still killed 627,000 people last year, mainly children in Africa, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
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A shortage of funding and basic remedies such as bed nets mean that malaria is still a major threat, particularly in Africa and Southeast Asia, according to the WHO's Malaria Report 2013.
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"The fact that so many people are infected and dying from mosquito bites is one of the greatest tragedies of the 21st century," said WHO Director General Margaret Chan.
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A surge in global funding over the past decade has led to great strides against malaria, but even levels as high as $2.5 billion in 2012 are still only half what is needed to make sure everyone at risk of the disease has access to interventions, the WHO report said.
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"This remarkable progress is no cause for complacency: absolute numbers of malaria cases and deaths are not going down as fast as they could," Chan said.
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In 2012, there were an estimated 207 million cases of malaria, causing some 627,000 deaths, down from the WHO estimate of 660,000 deaths in 2011.
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Malaria is caused by a parasite and symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea and jaundice.
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The Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and India are the hardest-hit countries.

[Folami David]

I agree with the Nigeria own because so many people complain of mosquitoes here.  Never knew India are feeling the same.