Abstract
Introduction
This report is part of an ongoing initiative within UNITAID to describe and monitor the landscape for malaria commodities. It focuses on product, technology and market dynamics around malaria vector control products that impact at-risk populations in endemic countries, particularly focusing on insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) that are the main interventions currently used for malaria vector control. The report provides an overview of the current ITN and IRS technologies and market landscape as well as a high-level perspective on barriers to delivery and access. Information in this report was collected through a variety of methods, including desk research, literature reviews and expert interviews.
Public health problem
The World Malaria Report 2013 estimated that there were 207 million cases of malaria in 2012 and 627 000 deaths, with over 75% of the deaths occurring in children under 5 years old. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are approximately 3.2 billion people at risk of contracting malaria. Although the greatest proportion of the total at-risk population lives in Asia, malaria has the greatest health impact in Africa, which accounts for 80% of worldwide cases and 89% of deaths. While there has been progress in recent years with a 25% reduction in cases and a 42% reduction in deaths between 2000 and 2012, the progress falls short of goals to reduce malaria cases by 75% (~56 million cases) by 2015.