COVID gives the fight against malaria, NTDs a shot in the arm
SETH ONYANGO, BIRD STORY AGENCY AT the Kigali Summit last month, states, donors and pharmaceutical pledged over US$4 billion of new funding to end malaria and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). It was the first in a series of commitments to bolster progress against the aforementioned diseases in Africa where malaria still kills thousands. Nature journal analysis shows there were an estimated 241 million cases of malaria and 627,000 deaths globally, with 95 per cent of these cases reported in Africa. But this could change as governments, using lessons learned to battle coronavirus, cooperate and adapt healthcare systems in an invigorated…