Malaria kills more than 600,000 people every year, and each year, World Malaria Day (25 April) raises awareness of what continues to be one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases.
The theme for this year’s World Malaria is on health equity across the globe, and the challenges faced by vulnerable groups such as pregnant women and young children.
Philippe Guerin was a clinician before working with Médecins Sans Frontières across Asia and Africa. He is now Professor of Epidemiology and Global Health at the University of Oxford, with a special interest in malaria. His work has provided evidence to support changes in the World Health Organization’s treatment guidelines for malaria.
'Malaria treatment guidelines are developed for the general population, but are rarely tailored for vulnerable subpopulations such as babies, pregnant women, and patients with comorbidities such as malnutrition, or HIV co-infections,' says Professor Guerin.
'It is imperative to develop optimised approaches for these groups too, to give them the best treatment for them. This is what is called precision public health.'