Malaria in Afghanistan: Challenges, efforts and recommendations

Malaria, a vector borne disease that can quickly become life-threatening, has become endemic to many countries, in particular Afghanistan. Ranking third for world's highest burden of malaria, Afghanistan has found itself in a downward spiral, burdened by outbreaks of not only malaria, but dengue, watery diarrhea and measles as well. The civil conflict and lack of healthcare services present compounded with the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a five-to tenfold increase of malarial incidence in the past years. Increased refugee shuttling and fluctuating environmental conditions have allowed proliferation of malarial vectors, with restricted access to treatment impeding elimination of malaria as well. Although efforts like larvicides, indoor spraying and initiatives like the Sehatmandi project have been made to control the spread of malaria, further efforts focusing on more sustainable and economical preventative measures are essential. Thus, efforts on both individual and global levels, more research and maintenance of control measures, are necessary to eliminate outbreaks and risks of resurgence.