Managing malaria: Selected maps of the twentieth century

Abstract

Understanding malaria's geographic occurrence throughout the world is amazingly complex. Jacques May wrote that "a whole atlas, comprising several dozens of maps, could justifiably be devoted to the cartographical representation of what we now know about malaria and its geographical significance." Three themes motivate this work: (1) renewed interest in the occurrence of malaria in Africa, (2) the popularity of research using a Geographic Information System (GIS) to estimate the economic burden of malaria, and (3) an appreciation for the challenges faced when mapping malaria. Selected malaria maps of the 20th century from the World Health Organization (WHO), the American Geographical Society (AGS), and others, are analyzed to identify the way maps are used to communicate information about malaria. Conclusions are drawn about the use of GIS for mapping malaria, and an argument for the importance of cartographically informed GIS users is made.