The World Health Organization warns that the battle against malaria in sub-Saharan Africa, where disease already kills hundreds of thousands of people annually, could be reversed for 20 years as countries focus their energies and resources to contain the novel coronavirus.
Malaria remains one of the most deadly diseases in low-income countries.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the new projections indicate that in the worst-case scenario, 769,000 people could die from malaria in sub-Saharan Africa this year as its control campaigns ceased, according to the Associated Press.
This is more than double the death toll in the last detailed census two years ago, when more than 360,000 people died in Sub-Sahara countries, and it will be the worst number in the region since 2000.
"We must not turn the clock back," said Matshidiso Moeti, WHO's regional director for Africa, on Thursday.
She pointed to statistics from Africa's ebola outbreak showing that more people died of other diseases, including malaria, than from ebola itself, due to lack of access to treatment.
"Let us not repeat that again with COVID-19," she said.
While health experts express fears that the pandemic of the coronavirus (COVID-19) can erode the global battle against many diseases, sub-Saharan Africa is most affected by malaria.
The WHO said it had 93 percent of the world's cases and 94 percent of deaths in 2018. The deaths were mainly children under five.
The World Health Organization said there were already "severe disturbances" in the anti-malaria campaign in Sub-Sahara and access to anti-malaria drugs in Africa.
The warning came one day before World Malaria Day, tomorrow, Saturday.
On World Malaria Day 2020, WHO joins the RBM Partnership to End Malaria in promoting “Zero malaria starts with me”, a grassroots campaign that aims to keep malaria high on the political agenda, mobilize additional resources, and empower communities to take ownership of malaria prevention and care, according to the official website of the WHO.
WHO underlines the critical importance of sustaining efforts to prevent, detect and treat malaria, using best practices to protect health workers and communities from COVID-19 infection.
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