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So, why is this such an immense issue in Africa?

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The malaria vaccine should be available for all, but it very much is not. There are not many vaccines available for countries who need it most. Zimbabwe for example has an immense malaria problem, but with about a 76% poverty rate, cannot afford it

https://borgenproject.org/poverty-in-zimbabwe/#:~:text=Poverty%20affects%2076.3%25%20of%20Zimbabwean,million%20children%20are%20chronically%20hungry.

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Zimbabwe was once a rising economy in Africa, with its mining and agricultural industries propelling the country forward. However, Zimbabweans now struggle with war, internal corruption, hyperinflation and industrial mismanagement. A closer look at the country provides insight into the context of poverty in Zimbabwe.

8 Facts About Poverty in Zimbabwe

1. Poverty affects 76.3% of Zimbabwean children living in rural areas as of 2020.

2. Roughly 74% of the population lives on less than $5.50 a day and the average wage per month is $253.

3. Half of Zimbabwe's 13.5 million people live below the food poverty line and about 3.5 million children are chronically hungry.

4. Approximately 1.3 million Zimbabweans were living with HIV as of 2016. However, the number of HIV cases has been declining since 1997 because of improvements in prevention, treatment and support services.

5. About 60% of rural Zimbabwean women face period poverty, meaning they lack access to menstrual supplies or education. Girls who experience period poverty miss an estimated 20% of their school life.

6. Due to famine and the HIV/AIDS crisis, the average life expectancy for a Zimbabwean was only 61 years as of 2018. However, life expectancy has steadily risen since 2002 when it was only 44 years.

7. In 2019, two million Zimbabweans had no access to safe drinking water due to the impacts of drought.

8. The government allocates a significant portion of the national budget toward education. As a result, Zimbabwe's adult literacy rate is 89%, one of the highest in Africa.

Why Poverty is Rampant in Zimbabwe

Since Zimbabwe gained its independence in 1980, its economy has primarily depended on its mining and agricultural industries. Zimbabwe's mining industry has immense potential as the country is home to the Great Dyke, the second-largest platinum deposit globally. Additionally, Zimbabwe has more than 4,000 gold deposits.

However, the country's mining sector is inefficient - its gold output dropped 30% in the first quarter of 2021. While illegal gold mining hurts the industry, Zimbabwe's lax mining licensing laws also allow foreign companies to mine minerals at cheap costs for years on end, leading to a lack of incentive to accelerate mineral production.

Furthermore, the Zimbabwean government's decision to support the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Second Congo War drained its bank reserves, alienated its allies and caused the U.S. and the EU to impose sanctions. Subsequently, Zimbabwe's economy collapsed. As a result, the government began printing more money, leading to widespread hyperinflation of the Zimbabwean dollar.

NGOs Combating Poverty in Zimbabwe

The situation in Zimbabwe is improving. In 2021, Zimbabwe's GDP could potentially grow by nearly 3% thanks to increased agricultural production, increased energy production and the resumption of manufacturing and construction activities. Unemployment rates will likely continue to decrease. The rebound is primarily due to increased vaccination efforts, with China providing two million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to the country.

In addition, multiple NGOs are fighting poverty in Zimbabwe. For example, Talia's Women's Network seeks to end period poverty in the country's rural areas by helping 250 girls gain access to menstrual products. The project also seeks to provide the girls both with an understanding of the menstrual process and with access to support structures to combat early childhood marriage, gender-based violence and unwanted pregnancies.

Another organization, Action Change, supplies lunch to 400 primary students in Zimbabwe. It also works to break the cycle of poverty by providing resources for education. Zimbabwe spends 93% of the estimated $905 million it allocates toward education on employment costs, leaving only about 7% of the budget for classroom resources. Action Change provides schools with resources such as textbooks.

American Foundation for Children with AIDS helps 3,000 children and guardians who have AIDS by providing them with livestock and food self-sufficiency training. Meanwhile, the organization also provides resources and training to fight food insecurity and ensure that children eat well.

Stimulating the Agriculture Industry

The key to reducing poverty in Zimbabwe is stimulating the country's agricultural industry. Nearly 66% of Zimbabweans rely on their small farms for survival. However, great inequality in water access exists between the country's many small farms and few large commercial farms. Equality in water access would increase productivity and income for small farmers. A revitalization of the agricultural sector would spur economic growth and alleviate poverty in Zimbabwe.

Although the country still has barriers to conquer to truly eradicate poverty, it also has immense potential to become an African superpower.

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Poverty in Zimbabwe - The Borgen Project

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Zimbabwe was once a rising economy in Africa, with its mining and agricultural industries propelling the country forward. However, Zimbabweans now struggle with war, internal corruption, hyperinflation and industrial mismanagement. A closer look at the country provides insight into the context of poverty in Zimbabwe.

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The leading diseases in Zimbabwe are Malaria, TB, and HIV. Additionally, even though Malaria is one of the largest health issues in Africa, it is not one of the mandated vaccines for travelers like hepatitis a and b, yellow fever, etc.

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Why can't mosquitoes be eradicated entirely?

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Why can't mosquitoes be eradicated entirely?

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Yes, if humans wanted to kill all of the mosquitoes living on the planet they could, but there is serious backlash to this.

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When an individual starts experiencing symptoms, pharmaceutical intervention may be suggested.

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Why can't the medicine price simply be lowered?

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Why can't the medicine price simply be lowered?

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The cost to research and develop drugs is highly expensive. The medical industry would lose billions of dollars by giving away free medication. Africa, being the leading continent containing malaria, has a very weak healthcare system making the price for medications higher. They have a lack of resources and manpower. A lack of resources and manpower creates higher medical prices for limited supply.

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We cannot kill off every mosquito on the planet. Mosquitoes are an essential part to the food chain, and eradicating all mosquitos will eradicate other animals like bats, frogs, etc.

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In mosquito

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What goes on in the human's body

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Though Malaria deaths have risen up until its peak in 2005, the numbers have been declining at a steady rate. Even if the total number of deaths are slowly going down, it is still managing to kill 600,000 people each year

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Malaria is a deadly disease caused by a protist (a single-celled organism) transmitted by mosquitos found in warm climates. It infected roughly 250 million people each year and causes 600,000 deaths in 2020. The numbers due to this have only increased throughout the years. Why is this such a problem if a vaccine, bug nets, and medications exist?

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Most victims of this virus are very young (5 years of age and under). This is because there is an increase of the amount of bacteria the protist can develop because of how rapid the body is growing. Another high amount of victims to malaria are pregnant women because of their weak immune system already because of the child they are carrying.

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The malaria vaccine is relatively cheap, but there are few developers, and creating a vaccine to fight against a parasite is extremely technically complex. According to the CDC, there is not enough understanding of how our immune systems work to the exposure of the malaria infection.

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The annual cost of malaria for Africa is roughly 2 billion USD according to the WHO. There are a numerous amount of drugs that need to be taken in order to kill the bacteria, but if someone does not have the money to finish the treatment or cannot afford the vaccine, then malaria becomes drug resistant.

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Why is malaria spreading particularly in Africa?

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Why is malaria spreading particularly in Africa?

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The mosquito is found in warm, subtropical climates. Malaria slows the economic growth in Africa by 1.3% every year. It's effect is staining the youth of the continent because most of its victims are under 5 years old.

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Those who carry the sickle-cell gene are protected from malaria. In sickle cell disease, red blood cells form into a sickle shape because of the lack of hemoglobin. With the lack of hemoglobin produced, there is not enough room in order for the protist from the malaria to multiply and to take over the bloodstream. This is why malaria is not able to take over people with this disease. For those who don't suffer from sickle cell disease, there is a higher chance of being infected by malaria.

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In 2019, there were 228 million cases of malaria confirmed with nearly 630,000 deaths. The best way to control the outbreak is to contain the vector (mosquitos). This will obviously create hazard in the food chain, so we cannot completely wipe out the insect population.

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Malaria is  plasmodium parasite meaning it is always changing. By staying hidden in its unique places within the human body, it is able to remain drug resistant.

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Once the gametes develop through the process of gametogenesis, a male sperm and female egg are created in the stomach, and the egg is fertilized. This is created in the stomach of the mosquito.

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The protist in the human is passed onto the mosquito. The bug ingests gametes which become sex cells that burry in the mosquitos genetic walls

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The host that the female feeds on happens to be infected with malaria, so she then gets it in her body as well

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Once the merozoites reproduce enough, they will cause the the red blood cell to burst and gain access to the bloodstream.

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Once the merozoites enter the red blood cells, they then are able to begin feeding onto the hemoglobin. This creates a protected environment for the protists to multiply using asexual reproduction whilst avoiding the body's immune system.

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After the merozoites multiply, it then attaches itself and absorbed by erythrocyte red blood cells.

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The liver plays a vital role in detoxifying the blood. If liver cells are effected by the plasmodium and cannot continue its job as the facilitator of digestion within the body. As the infected sporozoites enter the body, it migrate towards the liver. The sporozoites lay in the liver as it duplicates into tens of thousands of merozoites. This is also known as one of the incubation periods. At this point the victim is experiencing no symptoms.

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The female mosquito (the vector) bites onto the human victim and injects saliva into them in order to prevent blood clots from their meal. They do this in order to improve the egg production during their pregnancy.