Africa is home to 95% of the world’s malaria cases, so one of our foundation’s top priorities is to explore malaria elimination strategies and solutions in African countries. Over the past 70 years, China has reduced malaria cases within its borders from 30 million a year to zero—an incredible achievement that highlights the depth of experience that China brings to the issue. This experience could prove critical for African countries that are still plagued by malaria.
Tanzania is among the African countries where malaria is most endemic. With our partners, including the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute of Parasitic Diseases and Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania, we launched a malaria prevention and control demonstration project in 2018 to test whether China’s experience could help African countries reduce the burden of malaria and improve their local health systems. Our foundation has provided both financial and technical support for this effort.
The project covers a population of more than 300,000 people across 120 villages in three regions of Tanzania. Key measures include:
- Integrating China’s “1-3-7” model with the World Health Organization’s Test, Treat, Track initiative to develop a “1-7” approach in which all confirmed malaria cases are to be reported within 24 hours, followed by rapid testing, health education, and treatment within seven days
- Establishing a real-time electronic case reporting system to carry out targeted health education, testing, treatment, and vector control
- Strengthening local health workers’ capacity in vector surveillance and larvae trapping
Preliminary assessment shows that, despite the negative impact of COVID-19 on certain control measures, malaria cases in all intervention areas have continued to trend downward, in sharp contrast to rebounds in other areas.
WHO is now working to expand coverage of the pilot project in Tanzania and implement it in other countries that are severely plagued by malaria, including Zambia, Senegal, and Burkina Faso.
