Geography of Poverty- Malaria

The link between poverty and Malaria has been known for a long time. But, as with many aspects of poverty, it is both a cause and a symptom. Poverty is not a linear A happens which causes B, It’s a cyclic A and B influence one another and sharpen the effects of both. There are between 300 to 500 million cases reported each year, 90% of these are in sub Saharan Africa. Of the over 1 million deaths, 75 % occur in Sub-Saharan Africa. This disease, carried only by three species of mosquitoes, is a plague endemic to only some tropical regions of the world.

Malaria as a cause. Malaria (and disease in general) weaken a population. It’s nearly impossible to build a vibrant economy when a large chunk of the population is weakened to the point of immobility by sickness. In the same time period where malarial deaths grew from 100 to 160 per 100,000 in Africa, the average GDP declined 45%.

Malaria as a symptom. Chances of catching malaria, and especially dying from it, are significantly higher in poor, rural areas. Poor nutrition and lack of resources (insectcide, mosquito nets, doctors, etc.) are why malaria is such an insurmountable problem for poverty stricken areas of Africa.