Deforestation and Malaria in sub-Saharan Africa: an overview

Abstract

Malaria remains the most complex and overwhelming health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. The disease is compounded by the generally poor social, environmental and economic conditions in the region. Most sub-Saharan African countries are experiencing unprecedented rate of population growth which has led to uncontrolled and unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, especially the forests resources. Through the process of forest clearing, deforestation alters every element of local ecosystems such as microclimate, soil, and aquatic conditions, and most significantly, the ecology of local flora and fauna, including malaria vectors. Mosquitoes are highly sensitive to environmental changes because of deforestation: their survival, density, and distribution are dramatically influenced by small changes in environmental conditions, such as temperature, humidity, and the availability of suitable breeding sites. Changes in mosquito ecology and human behaviour patterns in deforested regions influence the transmission of malaria and deforestation has therefore been shown to increase the risk of malaria transmission in sub-Saharan. Because deforestation is a process that cannot be readily controlled for a variety of political and economic reasons, investigations and assessments of possible impacts of future deforestation will be crucial to minimize the ecological degradation caused by human activities and to control epidemics of malaria.