WHO: No ‘doomsday,’ but malaria fight disrupted by pandemic

By JAMEY KEATEN
Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — The U.N. health agency says the global response to the longtime threat of malaria has taken a hit as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted health services in many countries and led to 47,000 more deaths worldwide last year. And questions remain on the possible fallout this year. The figures for last year could have been much worse. But WHO said Monday that its original projection anticipated a possible doubling of malaria-related deaths in 2020. And many countries sought to ramp up their programs to fight malaria. The head of its global malaria program said the “doomsday scenario has not materialized.”