Malaria: Africa's most affected countries commit to end deaths

Ministers of Health from the 12 African countries with the highest burden of malaria gathered in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on Wednesday (Mar. 06).

Ending deaths from the disease remains a challenge despite a package of measures that have proven to be inefficient and not adapted to the continent. 

Mali's minister of health and social development, Dr. col Assa Badiallo, urged to unite force.

"We call on civil society, communities, and private actors to participate even more so that more funds can be invested into the fight against Malaria."

"Through mechanisms such as RAMED [Editor's Note: the health insurance scheme for the most vulnerable], through private health insurances and the compulsory health insurance scheme in Mali (AMO), our goal is that the entire Malian population can benefit from the available treatments," the minister said. Collaboration was therefore among the latest recommendations; the ministers agreed to communicate better, strengthen political efforts and increase resources to fight Malaria as well as to impoove national health research and innovation systems.

Approximately 70% of global malaria deaths occur in  Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, Uganda and Tanzania. The world's first malaria mass vaccine rollout renctly started in Africa where the disease kills about 600,000 people every year.