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Need to step up the fight against malaria
2007-08-07 09:47:18
By Michael Haonga
The recent visit to Tanzania by the former USA President Bill Clinton brought hope to many Tanzanians that the war against malaria can be won after all.
This is because the former USA President pledged his commitment to ensure that drugs to treat malaria are easily available and at an affordable price.
In this article Correspondent Michael Haonga assesses the impact of the support pledged by the former USA President and highlights the magnitude of the malaria problem at the national and international scale.
Tanzania has been grappling with the number one killer disease, malaria, for decades recording little success.
The disease has continued to torment and claim lives of children under five years of age as well as pregnant women.
Figures indicating the4 number of people who contract the disease and those who succumb to it are various but often do not reflect the situation on the ground as some of those who contract the disease do not attend to hospitals and some deaths go unreported.
Yet there is no doubt that children in their thousands succumb to the disease as the government has continued to work out strategies to contain it.
The seriousness of the danger posed by malaria knows no boundaries. The World Health Organization (WHO) figures show that some 350 million to 500million people worldwide contract malaria annually. Besides, WHO adds, malaria kills at least one million people in the same period of time.
The UNICEF Executive Director, Ann M.Veneman, also now and then reiterates the need to fight against the disease.
``At present malaria remains to be the infectious disease that takes more lives of children in Africa than any other - three times as many as HIV infections,`` she says.
The disease’s seriousness has necessitated the inclusion of the fight against malaria among the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which were passed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2000.
They goal is to halve and reverse the incidence of malaria by the year 2015. Various initiatives such as the famous `Roll Back Malaria` programme by UN aim to make countries realize this goal.
It is from this backdrop that different countries have also tailored programmes all of which are meant to fight against the killer disease.
Already there are a number of efforts going on in the country to combat the disease and save children from malaria related deaths.
The Bagamoyo Research and Training Unit (BRTU), for example, is undertaking research to come up with a drug that would effectively cure the disease.
The research which is being undertaken under the Ifakara Health Research Development Centre (IHRDC) involves malaria vaccine trials with a view of finding out the best way of curbing the spread of the disease.
Over 300 children have so far gone through the trials and more are still on the waiting list.
This is why the pledged support by the former US President brought a sigh of relief to many Tanzanians as it would be a great boost to the already existing country`s efforts.
The support will be channeled through the Clinton Foundation which will implement the program jointly with the Government of Tanzania. Among other things, the programme will provide easy access to malaria drugs at a price that will be affordable by many Tanzanians in the various income categories both in the urban and rural areas.
The programme is expected to carry-out pilot tests in two districts of Maswa and Kongwa in Shinyanga and Dodoma regions respectively.
``No one should die of malaria. We are here to see that the dise4ase can be prevented and those who contract it should be treated and cured, `` the former USA President told an enthusiastic crowd at Pugu Kajiungeni during his visit to Tanzania where he also launched Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies (ACT), the current treatment for malaria.
According to the Clinton Foundation, the pilot programme will implement several interrelated strategies for increasing access and use of ACTs to roughly 450,000 people in the two districts.
The program will also provide information needed to obtain correct drugs and appropriate usage and besides, a marketing campaign will be conducted by Population Services International (PSI) to inform the public about the availability of ACTs.
The third component of the programme targets the improvement of the quality of services provided by pharmacists through training on proper diagnosis and treatment of malaria.
A comprehensive data collection to support the initiative is also an important component of the programme.
Prof. Siriel Massawe, a doctor at Muhimbili National Hospital commended the support by the former US President under his Clinton Foundation.
Doctor Massawe highlighted also the need for awareness raising among the people on regular medical check up to determine their health status and upon diagnosis that they had malaria, then they should take appropriate dosage of the medicine.
``People should avoid going to pharmaceuticals to buy medicine without prescription by which will be provided after undergoing medical examination,`` she cautioned.
The doctor`s view was also shared by Advocate Charles Benne who said the importance of people adhering to curative and preventive measures against malaria should be emphasized.
The Advocate underlined the need to wage war against malaria in a multi-faceted approach ranging from activities such as cleaning the environment in order to destroy the mosquitoes breeding areas, using treated mosquito nets to regular medical check ups.
On her side, Betty Masanja, an official from International Finance Corporation said that the initiative by the former USA President was commendable.
``People must know must know where they can purchase the drugs, otherwise the programme will only benefit a few people,`` she said.
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