India sees increase in malaria deaths despite global decline reported by WHO

Sep 16 2011

While the number of malaria deaths has fallen by one-fifth over the past decade globally, according to a report released by Roll Back Malaria on Monday, "India is still recording high numbers of deaths, which some experts say are underestimated," Agence France-Presse reports. The WHO "says about 5,000 children and 10,000 adults die each year from malaria in India," AFP reports, adding, "However a study published last year by the Lancet said there are more than 200,000 malaria deaths each year and that WHO's reporting is flawed."

"'In certain regions where malaria is not considered a public health problem, like the north of India, there is a discord with the global figures,'" Roll Back Malaria Executive Director Awa Marie Coll-Seck "told AFP as the report was launched at the U.N. headquarters," according to the news agency. "Coll-Seck added that countries like Bangladesh and Myanmar had also lagged behind the global fall in malaria cases and deaths," and that "[t]here are also fears over the resistance to drugs which has been seen in some countries," AFP writes (9/14).