The battle against malaria is being won slowly but surely as new data released by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that there has been a drastic reduction in the number of deaths from the disease since 2000.
Disease death toll drops drastically
The WHO has also said that the number of recorded cases of the disease is also on the decline.
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WHO Global Malaria Program Director, Pedro Alonso stated that the number of people infected fell from 173 million in 2000 to 128 million in 2013.
“Mortality in children under five, the age group, which concentrates the biggest malaria problem in terms of severe disease and death, has reduced by a staggering 58 percent,” Alonso said.
"And, if we try to quantify the number of lives saved since 2000 up to 2014, we estimate that over four million deaths have been averted,” he added.
The UN agency added that the drop in the death toll was due to increased access to malaria-control interventions.
It also added that 214 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets will be delivered to malaria-endemic countries in Africa by the end of the year.
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