World Malaria Day

Improved livelihood of smallholder farmers in affected areas can help reduce malaria prevalence.

Malaria is amongst the world’s most important parasitic infectious diseases. In 2001, Malaria was ranked the eighth highest contributor to DALYs globally – a measure of healthy life lost – and the second highest contributor in Africa, according to the World Health Organisation.

An estimated 300 to 500 million people are falling ill with malaria every year, with the vast majority of cases (up to 90%) occurring in Africa. The production potential of African agriculture is negatively affected in significant ways by the disease, mostly through the path of labour productivity.

The disease affects in particular the vulnerable and poor, of which the majority reside in rural areas and are engaged in small-scale farming. Agriculture and animal husbandry are their main sources of income, including cash income with which to purchase preventive devices such as sprays and mosquito nets or seek treatment. Efforts aimed at improving farm yields and income per unit of labour in agriculture cannot ignore considerations related to the farm population’s health, including in particular the challenges posed by malaria.

On this World Malaria Day, 25th April 2008, the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture salutes today’s stepped up efforts by local actors, governments, and the international community to control the vector and the disease. The Foundation, in collaboration with local health organizations (public and private, including the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development), is supporting the distribution of insecticide-treated bednets in villages of the Cinzana and Katiéna areas in Mali where the PRECAD rural development project operates.

Health considerations are frequently factored into the Foundation’s work in support of agricultural intensification and rural development for the benefit of resource-poor communities in developing countries. Not doing so might greatly limit the scope of the benefits of the investments specifically directed at agriculture.