Current status of malaria and control activities in the Philippines.

The paper attempts to present the current malaria situation in the Philippines which includes its distribution, morbidity and mortality rates, parasitology, the appearance of drug-resistant parasites, and entomological aspects. Under the current malaria control program, the objective is to reduce the incidence of malaria to one per one thousand population by year 2000 and to prevent its reintroduction to malaria-freed areas. Following the tactical variants of malaria control advocated by WHO, the program successfully reduced the incidence from 14.5/1,000 population in 1987 to 7.3/1,000 in 1990 but leveled off in 1991. Malaria is still among the 10 leading causes of morbidity. Problems encountered and research priorities are included in the report.