ÌÇÐÄÆƽâ°æ

Although malaria has become more preventable across the Asia-Pacific region throughout recent years, Papua New Guinea recorded over * thousand cases of malaria as of 2020. In comparison, Timor-Leste had approximately ** recorded cases of malaria in 2020.

What is malaria?

Malaria is a disease caused by the bite of a mosquito which is infected by the Plasmodium parasite. Malaria is typically rife in hot countries, as the parasite is able to live in these climates. After Africa and the Eastern Mediterranian, Southeast Asia was the region which had the third highest number of malaria cases worldwide in 2020. That year, Southeast Asia also suffered the third highest number of deaths due to malaria, which was significantly higher than the Western Pacific region.

Attempts to tackle the disease

Many countries across the Asia Pacific region have increased attempts to tackle malaria, with members of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopting aims a resolution to have eradicated the disease by 2030. Although malaria started to decrease from 2010 in Southeast Asia, the number of cases rose once more in 2015 and 2016. Subsequently, the Southeast Asian region adopted initiatives to lower the rate of infection. As of November 2017, the region made the funding of new technologies to end malaria a priority. Interestingly, the number of malaria cases in Southeast Asia then decreased in 2017, and continued to decline steadily in the following years.