Plant Medicines Used in the Treatment of Malaria

Abstract

Globally, malaria ranks among the top three communicable killer diseases. Each year,malaria causes 781 000 deaths and illnesses in an estimated 225 million people worldwide (WHO, 2010).Most deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa (WHO, 2008), with young children and pregnant women at greatest risk for severe forms of malaria and death (WHO, 2008). Uganda has one of the highest burdens of malaria globally, with an estimated 70 000–110 000 children dying of malaria each year (Lynch et al., 2005). At the household and at the national level, malaria exerts significant social and economic costs (Sachs and Malaney, 2002). These costs include direct medical costs to treat the disease and also lost income resulting from inability to work or time taken off work to care for relatives with malaria. Malaria in children impacts negatively on school attendance and decreases savings at the household level. At the national level, governments incur the costs of prevention and treatment ofmalaria. Furthermore, the economic impact of malaria endemicity includes lower trade, tourism and foreign direct investment (Sachs and Malaney, 2002).