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War against malaria: So far so good, but...
2008-04-26 09:26:29
By Editor
The war against malaria in Tanzania, to a great extent, has been waged in a manner that has brought tangible results.
We say so bearing in mind the success that was registered in Zanzibar in fighting the scourge, which is a leading cause of deaths to Tanzanians, especially children.
The other method that has borne fruit is the use of treated mosquito nets, which has reduced the incidence of malaria occurrences among children aged under five and expectant mothers.
At this juncture, we wish to thank all donors, especially the Americans.
On the other hand, in spite of the promotion of some of the insecticides used to treat the bed nets, some people are complaining that they are not effective. The authorities need to look into all these complaints.
Much as we very much applaud donors` efforts to support the distribution of treated nets, we feel that this should go beyond expectant mothers and children aged less than five years.
The campaign should also cover all ordinary people who cannot afford to buy a net on regular basis.
Nevertheless, the bed nets being of cloth material, they are not expected to last too long, hence the need to be given regularly.
Also, nobody can stay inside a mosquito net for a whole day, which means that Tanzania should think beyond the measures that are so far in place to fight malaria.
Shouldn't we be learning from countries which have similar climatic conditions as ours, which have successfully reduced or eliminated malaria from their midst?
For example, why don`t we deal with the source of the problem, that is, the spraying and elimination of mosquito breeding grounds, especially those located in populated areas, where the rate of infection is high?
Secondly, regular house to house spraying-what used to be the practice in the past-should now resume in full force.
On the curative front, the country is yet to settle on the right treatment regime since the removal of chloroquine from the shelves, and there is a possibility that the decision was taken rather too hastily.
There are people who up to this day can be cured of malaria using chloroquine.
While we acknowledge the existence of strains of malaria that need a combination of drugs to clear them, we think experts should also not lose sight of a possible business enterprise such that some malaria drugs might be pushed into the market purely for profit and not their efficacy.
For that reason, the multi-pronged approach covering both preventive and curative elements should be consistently pursued, if we are to win the battle against the scourge.
Here, we feel compelled to add that the anti-malaria fight is a real war just like any other.
It needs courage and deliberate political will due to the fact that it is usually mired by a lot of noise from all sides, such that a decision maker might end up giving in to fabricated solutions that simply promote malaria incidents rather than significantly curb them.
We have to remember that malaria is the killer disease number one in Tanzania, and all our actions in fighting the pandemic should reflect this fact.
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