World Malaria Day - African Leadership
April 24th, 2008 at 10:11 am | posted by ONE.Partners
Todd Jennings from PATH continues to send in daily updates about World Malaria Day from Zambia.
World Malaria Day was born Africa Malaria Day following a commitment by African leaders in 2001. The Abuja summit set benchmarks for malaria control and prevention by 44 African countries, including Zambia. Recognizing that the disease reaches beyond this continent, the commemoration is now known as World Malaria Day. This year’s slogan (Malaria, a disease without borders) and theme (United Against Malaria) demonstrate how connected we are in the 21st century. People travel more than ever and mosquitoes don’t respect borders, so it’s imperative that countries work together to fight malaria.
Yesterday, the First Lady of Zambia, Maureen Mwanawasa, gave a talk about HIV/AIDS and malaria, an interaction she described as the collision of hippos and elephants. Those with developing or compromised immune systems—children under five, pregnant mothers, the chronically ill—are most at risk of malaria.
World Malaria Day, the First Lady reminded us, is not a day to be depressed about the toll of the disease. Rather it’s a day to celebrate what’s possible. We have the means to prevent malaria at our disposal—treated bednets, house spraying, lifesaving drugs. All that’s left is for people to join together to kick malaria out of Zambia, Africa, and the world.
UPDATE: In this video clip, see the First Lady of Zambia deliver her malaria address:
-Todd Jennings, Advocacy Officer, Malaria Control and Evaluation Partnership in Africa (MACEPA), a program at PATH, Lusaka, Zambia.
Photo credit: Paul Sachika
April 24th, 2008 at 11:23 am
play a game to send a net for free to struggle malaria:
http://www.nothingbutnets.net/its-easy-to-help/wmd
P.S: Note that Funds will be released for nets through April 25th while funds last, up to $200,000
April 24th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Thanks ba for informing us about this wonderful way to support Nothing But Nets here in the ONE blog.
I’ll let others know about this asap to try to take part in this excellent venture.
LIVING POSITIVELY, debbie
www.mpwn-uganda.org
PS: Great Post !
April 25th, 2008 at 6:35 am
Great strides have been made in many places in the fight against malaria, a disease that kills a million people, most of them children, every year. That’s what World Malaria Day is all about. It draws attention to the many successful ways the war against malaria is being waged, mainly through the distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets and other relatively low-tech preventive measures. Unfortunately, children in the Democratic Republic of Congo remain highly vulnerable.
According to the World Health Organization, less than 1% of DRC children under five years of age sleep under protective nets. This results in most of them suffering six to ten malaria-related fever incidents per year. The disease also accounts for 45% of childhood mortality, which overall runs to 20%. In short, malaria kills nearly one in ten children in the Congo every year.
In Heart of Diamonds, my novel of the Congo, I explore how continuous armed conflict in the country is responsible for many of these deaths. Medical supplies can’t be distributed when roads, railroads, and airstrips have been destroyed. Treatment can’t be delivered by medical personnel who have been chased from their clinics and hospitals. People driven from their homes, plagued by malnutrition, inadequate shelter, and lack of sanitary facilities are weak and less capable of warding off disease. War creates a breeding ground for death by malaria just as surely as swamps full of stagnant water breed anopheles mosquitoes.
Although the intensity of conflict has decreased since the truce of 2003 and democratic elections of 2006, millions of displaced persons still struggle to survive and hot spots remain in the eastern and western provinces. Collapsed infrastructure has severely weakened the health system in the DRC, and the strengthening process is a slow one.
The DRC, unfortunately, has little to celebrate this World Malaria Day.