The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) on Wednesday marked Africa Malaria Day by calling for greater efforts to combat the preventable disease, which claims more than a million lives every year, most of them children under five.
”Every 30 seconds, an African child dies from malaria despite it being a curable and preventable disease,” said Ann Veneman, Unicef executive director.
More than 80% of malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Those who survive the disease are often left debilitated, unable to fulfil their potential in school or to earn a living.
The disease is easily preventable, by shielding humans from the mosquitoes that carry and spread the virus. Inexpensive nets to cover beds can keep many people from contracting the disease.
”The proper use of a $10 bed net has been shown to reduce under-five mortality from all causes by up to 25%,” said Veneman.
Efforts to increase use of insecticide-treated bed nets in 2006 made significant progress in Malawi, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Zambia.
Ethiopia, a country with about nine million malaria infections each year, increased the number of nets distributed from 1,8-million in 2004 to eight million by the end of 2006. The government, Unicef and other partners are now aiming for 20-million nets by the end of this year.
Spraying with DDT
Meanwhile, Uganda’s Health Ministry said on Tuesday it will start using DDT, an insecticide banned in many countries because of environmental concerns, as part of its growing battle against malaria.
Indoor spraying will begin in the south-western districts of Kabale and Kanungu during the dry seasons to avoid contamination, said John Bosco Rwakimari, malaria-control programme chief.
”The environment impact assessment was done and the environmental authority has cleared us to use DDT,” Rwakimari said. ”We cannot spray during rainy seasons. We have to wait for the dry season and we shall start in August in Kabale.”
In 2005, Uganda announced plans to use the chemical, a highly effective mosquito killer, to reduce malaria infections, which now account for up to 50% of all out-patients across the country.
But environmentalists have warned that DDT, banned in many countries in the 1970s, has a devastating effect on birds and fish and can remain in the soil for up to 15 years after its application. The European Union has warned Uganda that its exports to Europe may suffer if it goes ahead with the plan.
But Rwakimari said the use of the pesticide will significantly reduce malaria cases in the country, which spends $164-million every year on malaria drugs. ”If we would carry out the second round the following year, 50% of the burden will go, while 90% of the burden will go if the process was repeated annually for five years.”
In addition to the deaths, Uganda spends about $347-million per year in treating malaria patients, who currently account for 40% of outpatients in the country.
Funding boost
In Angola, petroleum giant Esso is to spend â,¬3-million to help fund the battle against malaria, state-run media reported on Tuesday.
The money will go towards financing ongoing programmes being run by the country’s Health Ministry and coordinated by provisional authorities, the Angop news agency reported from the capital, Luanda.
The Angola government launched an action plan last year to halve the number of cases of malaria by the end of the decade in a country where up to 30 000 people are thought to die of the disease every year.
On Tuesday, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) also announced extra funding to help battle malaria. It has allocated $50-million to help 10 African and Asian countries fight the disease.
The funds, a contribution to an emergency anti-malaria programme in malaria-infested IDB member countries, aim to ensure better distribution and higher production of serums, vaccine and drugs used against malaria.
They are Burkina Faso, Chad, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Indonesia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Sudan, the IDB said in a statement.
The money will also help fund surveys and research and disseminate successful experiments to help the recipient countries in their fight against malaria and diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV/Aids.
EU and Group of Eight president Germany urged rich countries on Tuesday to do more to fight malaria in Africa and announced the formation of a European umbrella group to draw attention to the problem. — Reuters, Sapa-AFP, Sapa-dpa