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Ajayi IO, Ajumobi OO, Falade C. Malaria and COVID-19: commonalities, intersections and implications for sustaining malaria control. Pan Afr Med J. 2020;37:1doi: 10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.37.1.25738.
Ajayi, I. O., Ajumobi, O. O., & Falade, C. (2020). Malaria and COVID-19: commonalities, intersections and implications for sustaining malaria control. The Pan African medical journal, 371. https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.37.1.25738
Ajayi, IkeOluwapo Oyeneye, et al. "Malaria and COVID-19: commonalities, intersections and implications for sustaining malaria control." The Pan African medical journal vol. 37 (2020): 1. doi: https://doi.org/10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.37.1.25738
Ajayi IO, Ajumobi OO, Falade C. Malaria and COVID-19: commonalities, intersections and implications for sustaining malaria control. Pan Afr Med J. 2020 Sep 01;37:1. doi: 10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.37.1.25738. eCollection 2020. PMID: 33294102; PMCID: PMC7704348.
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Pan Afr Med J. 2020 Sep 01;37:1. doi: 10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.37.1.25738. eCollection 2020.

Malaria and COVID-19: commonalities, intersections and implications for sustaining malaria control.

The Pan African medical journal

IkeOluwapo Oyeneye Ajayi, Olufemi Olamide Ajumobi, Catherine Falade

Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
  2. Epidemiology and Biostatistics Research Unit, Institute for Advanced Medical Research and Training, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
  3. School of Community Health Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno; Reno, USA.
  4. National Malaria Elimination Programme, Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja, Nigeria.
  5. Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.

PMID: 33294102 PMCID: PMC7704348 DOI: 10.11604/pamj.supp.2020.37.1.25738

Abstract

The devastating impact of infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics on health systems could be overwhelming especially when there is an overlap in clinical presentations with other disease conditions. A case in point is the disruptive effect of the Ebola Virus Disease outbreak on health service delivery and its consequences for malaria management in the affected West and Central African countries between 2014 and 2016. This could be the case with the current infectious disease pandemic (COVID-19) the world is experiencing as malaria illness shares many symptoms with COVID-19 illness. Caused by a novel coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), COVID-19 is reported to have originated from Wuhan city, China in December 2019. COVID-19 was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020 and declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO). Practically, all community infrastructure has been activated in affected countries in response to COVID-19. However, the deployment of huge resources in combating COVID-19 pandemic should not be a missed opportunity for the advancement of infectious diseases control including malaria. This calls for conscious and heightened effort to sustain the gains in malaria control. The WHO has emphasized that the response to the COVID-19 pandemic must utilize and strengthen existing infrastructure for addressing malaria and other infectious diseases globally. Leveraging these to maintain malaria control activities in endemic countries could boost and help to sustain the gains in malaria control in accordance with the 2016-2030 Global technical strategy for malaria (GTS) milestones. In addition, it will help to keep the "High burden to high impact" (HBHI) and other initiatives on track. This article highlights the commonalities of the two diseases, discusses implications and recommendations to support decision making strategies to keep malaria control on track in the COVID-19 pandemic era.

Copyright: IkeOluwapo Oyeneye Ajayi et al.

Keywords: COVID-19; community testing; integrated control; malaria; pandemic; surveillance

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interest.

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