WHO Reports Deaths from Malaria have Fallen, Africa makes Slight Progress

The fight against malaria is improving.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that over this past year, malaria killed fewer than half a million people. More specifically, the death rates in children under five-years-old fell by 71 percent since 2000.

The decline in deaths from 839,000 in 2000 to 438,000 in 2015 in people of all ages suggests that prevention tactics and treatment plans have been effective in helping countries eliminate the disease.

The United Nations health agency report added that bednets, sprays and other methods have prevented millions of deaths. These items have also helped African countries that are still battling malaria save millions in healthcare costs over the past decade.

"In sub-Saharan Africa, more than half of the population is now sleeping under insecticide-treated mosquito nets, compared to just 2 percent in 2000," Margaret Chan, the WHO's director general wrote in the report published on Tuesday. "A rapid expansion in diagnostic testing, and in the availability of antimalarial medicines, has allowed many more people to access timely and appropriate treatment."

Despite the improvements, the experts noted that for some African countries, progress has remained slower than average. Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo were two countries that still had high death rates. The report found that more than 35 percent of the deaths from malaria in 2015 occurred in these countries.

Although the death rates have fallen, experts have also cautioned that future progress could be stunted by insecticide and drug resistance.

"In many countries, progress is threatened by the rapid development and spread of mosquito resistance to insecticides. Drug resistance could also jeopardize recent gains in malaria control," Pedro Alonso, director of the WHO's global malaria program, warned reported by Reuters.

For more information, read the "World Malaria Report 2015" here.