World at risk of losing malaria fight as cases rise, report says

Nov 30 (Reuters) - The world is in danger of losing the fight against malaria, as cases of the disease rose by around 5 million year-on-year in 2022, exceeding global targets to contain it, a new World Health Organization report showed on Thursday.

Pandemic-related disruptions and extreme weather events linked to climate change have hindered the fight against malaria in recent years.

But progress, since 2015, had already stalled due to rising drug and insecticide resistance and conflict, the WHO's annual World Malaria Report said.

"More than ever, we are at risk of losing our fight against this disease," Peter Sands, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, said.

"The report reveals that progress has ground to a halt, and in some places is reversing. Unless we take action now, malaria could resurge dramatically, wiping out the hard-won gains of the last two decades."

In 2022, there were an...
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