Malaria threatens virtually all of Cote d’Ivoire’s 20 million people, making it one of the most endemic countries in Africa. The World Health Organization in Cote d’Ivoire estimated as many as 9.6 million cases in 2010 and as many as 28,400 deaths. Since 2008, when the organization began counting confirmed malaria cases, admissions and deaths, the number rose dramatically until 2010 and then fell, possibly because civil war disrupted health systems, preventing families from accessing treatment and health workers from collecting reliable data.
Equatorial Guinea has a population of 720,000 people, all of whom are at risk of malaria. In 2011, a report by Roll Back Malaria titled “Business Investing in Malaria Control: Economic Returns and a Healthy Workforce for Africa” highlighted progress against the disease, citing a 57% decrease in the prevalence of the malaria parasite in children in just four years. The country also increased the number of children protected by bednets or indoor spraying of insecticides from 4% to 95% in that same period.
Malaria is one of Tanzania’s deadliest diseases, accounting for 36% of deaths among children under age five and some 40% of all outpatient visits. Nearly all 46 million Tanzanians are at risk, according to the World Health Organization’s 2012 World Malaria Report. The National Malaria Control Program reports that approximately 14 to 18 million malaria cases occur in Tanzania per year. Of those, 60,000 end in death.
With increasing political stability and a growing economy, Ghana is gaining recognition as an emerging leader in sub-Saharan Africa. In the past decade, the country has pursued an aggressive poverty reduction and growth program to improve macroeconomic stability, private sector competitiveness, human resource development, good governance and civil responsibility. Higher prices for oil, gold and cocoa have also bostered growth. Despite progress, preventable diseases, especially malaria, remaing a major challenge to the country's development.
Over the past decade South Africa has made significant strides in controlling malaria. Malaria cases have been reduced by 85%, from 64,622 cases in the year 2000 to 9,866 cases in 2011. Deaths from malaria have also been reduced by 80%, from 458 to 89 for the same comparison years.
Malaria is the leading cause of death and illness in Uganda, affecting an entire population of 34.5 million people and accounting for 25-40% of all outpatient department visits, according to the Ministry of Health. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported 11.8 million presumed or confirmed cases in 2011, nearly one case per three individuals.
