By Edward Williams
Hohoe (V/R), Aug. 20, GNA – The African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN), says while science has transformed the ability to prevent and control diseases such as malaria, new challenges are emerging and millions of people across Africa remain at risk.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that the African Region accounted for 94 per cent global malaria cases and 95 per cent of malaria deaths in 2024, and that children under five remained among those most affected.
The Network at a press release to mark the 2026 World Mosquito Day, called for renewed attention to the science, innovation and accurate public information needed to sustain progress and protect communities.
It said mosquitoes also transmitted other diseases, including dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya, making their control an important part of protecting public health, yet the challenges persisted.
The Network noted that insecticide resistance, changing environmental, climatic conditions, and the spread of invasive mosquito species were creating new concerns for disease-control programmes.
“At the same time, new tools, including malaria vaccines and improved vector-control interventions, are changing what is possible in the fight against malaria,” it said.
The Network stressed that mosquito-borne diseases could not be treated as “yesterday’s problem” while science and innovation continued to provide new tools for prevention and control, because the threats were also changing.
It said Africa must therefore keep pace by strengthening prevention, embracing scientific advances and ensuring that accurate, accessible information reached every community.
The Network also called for knowledge to be translated into action to protect lives.
It said three key areas that needed action was; the sustenance of investment in science, innovation to strengthen surveillance, and development of effective tools against evolving mosquito-borne disease threats.
The Network said communities must be placed at the centre of prevention by ensuring people have the knowledge, tools and support needed to protect themselves and seek timely care.
It also called for the strengthening of health communication by making accurate, evidence-based based information a core part of disease prevention and control.
Dr Charity Binka, the Executive Secretary of AMMREN, said “We must keep the science moving, but we must also ensure that people are not left behind”.
She said accurate information was a powerful tool for prevention, and the fight against mosquito-borne diseases was not over.
Dr Binka said Africa must protect the progress it had made, embrace new solutions and ensure that no community was left behind.
GNA
Edited by Maxwell Awumah/ Christabel Addo
Reporter: Edward Williams
Email: [email protected]