by Dr. K Amponsah-Manager
I have written on malaria in the past. Since then, much has changed and nothing has changed.
There are more than 400 million cases of malaria annually. Most of malaria infections and deaths occur in Sub-Saharan African where the most vulnerable are infants, pregnant mothers and seniors. In fact, it is estimated that 90% of malaria-related deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
Significant progress has been made in the fight against malaria as more effective drugs are made available. At the same time, challenges emerge as the plasmodium parasite develops resistance towards existing drugs. For instance, chloroquine which in the past used to be the most commonly prescribed medicine against malaria, even though is still used to treat and prevent malaria, is no longer as effective against the disease because the parasite developed resistance to the drug. There is currently no effective vaccine against malaria but there may be one in the horizon.
Even though malaria has not received global attention required for a killer of such profile, wealthy foundations, some private companies, and smart governments across the world are beginning to wake up and make malaria a priority. One of such foundations is the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Malaria can be defeated, albeit, not overnight. The funding available for anti-malaria campaigns, and research and development is tiny compared to the challenges.
While governments, Foundations and private institutions work towards eradication and prevention, it is important for private citizens to join the partnership especially in efforts towards preventing malaria.
In the long run, I believe that prevention of malaria is the cost-effective route to take rather than treatment of the disease. However, for preventive measures to make a dent, individual participation and community involvement would have to be spurred up. Continue reading “Malaria: Focus on Prevention and Get the African Privileged Engaged”
