World Malaria Day

“In a rural hospital in Ethiopia that cares for the poor, a fragile young girl called Zakhiya has recovered recently from severe malaria. In the six short years of her life, Zakhiya has battled a number of infectious diseases. Her struggle will probably continue throughout her childhood. But Zakhiya is fortunate: she has fought off malaria -- this time.”

25 April 2011 is World Malaria Day. Malaria kills over 800,000 people each year, but malaria prevention efforts are helping cut down this number. “An expansion of malaria control programs between 2008 and 2010 has resulted in the distribution of enough [ insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) ] to protect more than 578 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Malaria Report 2010, and indoor spraying has protected 75 million people, or 10% of the population at risk in 2009.”

During the past 10 years, malaria prevention and treatment efforts have saved an estimated 750,000 children in 34 African countries. Distribution of nets, indoor pesticide spraying, and use of effective medications are the best adversaries to the malaria parasite and the mosquitoes that carry it.

A decade ago, Zanzibar recorded over 18,000 cases of malaria. Today, it is virtually absent from the archipelago. “In 2009, Morocco and Turkmenistan were certified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as having eliminated malaria and the WHO European Region reported no cases of Plasmodium falciparum malaria for the first time.”

“These successes have been a collaborative effort of government, multilateral and non-government organizations and the private sector. But much of the leadership and funding has come from the U.S. government, through the President's Malaria Initiative, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the Bill& Melinda Gates Foundation. These donors have helped drive an 18-fold increase in malaria funding between 2003 and 2010.”

We can celebrate this World Malaria Day, because efforts to stop malaria are proving themselves successful. “But malaria remains a deadly killer, threatening half the world's population and taking nearly 800,000 lives a year. Malaria strikes society's most vulnerable, especially children under the age of five -- 85 percent of malaria deaths fall into this group -- and pregnant women.”

Malaria also strikes at the economy. This “disease costs Africa US$12 billion in lost GDP every year and consumes 40 percent of all public health spending in malaria endemic countries in Africa, where lost productivity is estimated to reduce GDP by 1.3 percent per year. And malaria consumes up to one-quarter of household income in some countries.”

“One of the most difficult challenges” malaria presents “is to make novel health interventions affordable, accessible and available to those who need” them the most. “In this long war to eradicate malaria we are at a tipping point. Malaria has been eliminated or is close to elimination in several countries.” We cannot stop fighting.

“To stop efforts before the last parasite has been defeated is to lose the enormous gains already made.” Malaria spreads quickly. We must be faster. Every 45 seconds a child dies from malaria. Malaria eradication is within reach. With global effort we can make this deadly disease a thing of the past.

Source:
Sturchio, Jeffrey L.; David Reddy. "Malaria: Solid Success but No Time for Complacence". Huffpost Health. 23 April 2011.

World Malaria Day

25 April 2010 is World Malaria Day

A parasite poisons hundreds of millions of people. The ancient illness kills nearly a million humans each year. Yet, this infectious disease is treatable and preventable.

Fragile mosquitoes flit through the tropical breezes. Poised on delicate feet, the insect prepares to feed. With a thwack, a slap of a hand, the mosquito melts into a smear of blood. Malaria has been defeated, at least in that instant.

Transmitted by mosquitoes, the malaria parasite may be deadly to humans, but many vectors for control exist. Prevention measures like pesticide spraying, reservoir draining, and insect-repellent bed-net distribution prevent the breeding and biting of mosquitoes. Fewer mosquitoes mean fewer vehicles in which malaria may travel.

Doctors around the globe strive for a vaccine that will prevent malaria infection, but a perfected vaccine has yet to be developed. Still, medicine plays a pivotal part in preventing malaria deaths. Traditional medicines like Artemisinin, Quinine, and Chloroquine are still used to treat the disease, but drug-resistant malaria has evolved in many parts of the world. New combination therapies are implemented to fight the illness, but the situation resembles an arms race. Medics and malaria struggle to keep the upper-hand, and we see an escalation in the strength of weapons needed to fight the deadly disease.

"Malaria defeated the international community many years ago. We cannot allow this to happen again," said Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization. Many so-called developed countries have expelled malaria from their territories, yet the disease is still endemic in much of the world. Malaria is a global problem, and it affects the global community. The mosquitoes that transmit the disease do not heed political boundaries or economic status. If one country suffers from rampant malaria, then the world risks the global spread of disease.

Eradicating malaria is not a simple task, but it can be done. The parasite changes, mutates, and evolves to ensure its survival, but humans can outwit this evolution. Concentrated effort to prevent and treat malaria drastically reduces the number of ill and diminishes the number of deaths in a region. And, it isn't just trained medical professionals who can help fight malaria on a global scale. One of the biggest efforts to combat malaria comes from mosquito-net distribution.

Bed-nets prevent malaria-infested mosquitoes from biting people while they sleep. Insecticide treated nets are the most effective, but even a standard net is better than no protection. Donations to support the distribution of mosquito nets are collected on a global scale. Please visit Malaria No More or Nothing But Nets to contribute to a net-distribution program.

Other ways you can help:
* Donate
Malaria is an economic drain on the countries and communities where the disease is endemic. Donations are needed to provide medical treatment and to support preventative measures in places where malaria is most prevalent. Please only donate to reputable organizations. Infectious Bite suggests Malaria No More, the CDC Foundation, and Nothing But Nets.

* Help
Volunteer in anyway that you can. Medical personnel are always needed in endemic regions, but non-medical volunteers are also needed. Volunteers distribute mosquito nets, disrupt and destroy mosquito breeding grounds, and educate at-risk individuals about proper use of insecticides and other preventative measures.

* Start
Start an awareness project of your own. Compared to activism for many other causes, anti-malaria offensives are still developing to find novel ways to fight the disease. Media publications reveal the signs of "an evolving 'malaria activism' (akin to AIDS activism)" (Public). "Probably no other disease in human history has been associated with social and political activism to the extent that the HIV epidemic has" (AIDS Activism). "Such activism played a huge role in reducing the costs of anti-retroviral drugs in developing countries" (PLoS). Outspoken individuals are needed to raise awareness in their communities. Small actions are indispensable to the global effort of malaria awareness.



World Malaria Day "is a day for recognizing the global effort to provide effective control of malaria." Instituted by the World Health Assembly in May 2007, World Malaria Day seeks to engage everyone at moving toward the goal of eliminating the global problem of malaria (WHO).

"Approximately half of the world's population is at risk of malaria, particularly those living in lower-income countries. It infects more than 500 million people per year and kills [approximately] 1 million. The burden of malaria is heaviest in sub-Saharan Africa but the disease also afflicts Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and even parts of Europe" (WHO).

World Malaria Day is an opportunity:
*for countries in the affected regions to learn from each the experiences of others and support each global efforts;
*for new donors to join a global partnership against malaria;
*for research and academic institutions to flag their scientific advances to both experts and general public; and
*for international partners, companies and foundations to showcase their efforts and reflect on how to scale up what has worked

Join us, and join the world as we fight to bring an end to malaria illness and deaths. Together we can bite malaria back.


Links to visit:
World Malaria Day: http://www.worldmalariaday.org
Roll Back Malaria: http://www.rollbackmalaria.org/worldmalariaday/
WHO: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/malaria/en/index.html

Sources:
AIDS Activism. http://www.albany.edu/sph/AIDS/activists.html

PLoS. "Time for a Third Wave of Malaria Activism." http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000188

Public Library of Science. "It's Time for a 'Third Wave' of Malaria Activism to Tackle Drug Shortages." ScienceDaily 23 November 2009. 24 November 2009 .

Roll Back Malaria. "Key Facts, Figures, & Strategies." http://www.rollbackmalaria.org/gmap/GMAP_Advocacy-ENG-web.pdf

Yarney, G. "Roll Back Malaria." http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/findArticle.action?author=Yamey&title=Roll%20Back%20Malaria:%20A%20failing%20global%20health%20campaign.

Malaria in Angola

Located on the West African coast, Luanda is Angola's chief seaport and capital. For years, Angola has waged war against malaria by providing medical treatment, distributing medicine and mosquito nets, and reconstructing the capital city. Social housing built to replace slums has reduced the urban risk of contracting malaria. Better health facilities prevent the ill from dying, and mosquito nets reduce the likelihood of mosquito bites, which may transmit malaria.

"Angola's health systems were severely damaged during the civil war," [ending in 2002] after which "only about 30 percent of the population had access to government health facilities. Malaria accounts for an estimated 35 percent of mortality in children less than five years old, 25 percent of maternal mortality, and 60 percent of hospital admissions for children under age five" (USAID).

Luanda reports that "the number of malaria cases dropped from four million to three million in recent years". "Speaking on the celebrations of the malaria world day [on 25 April], Filomeno Fortes [Ministry of Health] stated that the number of deaths also decreased from 20,000 to 9,000 as a result of the anti-malaria campaigns, namely through sensitization actions, distribution of mosquito nets, the anti-larvae combat and the initiative of the US president."

"Angola is one of three first-round target countries benefiting from the U.S. President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), a five-year $1.2 billion initiative led by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). . . PMI's long-term goal is to cut malaria deaths by 50 percent in 15 African countries by providing lifesaving services, supplies, and medicines to 85 percent of those most vulnerable to malaria -- children under five years of age and pregnant women" (USAID).

Fortes hopes to equip every health unit in the country with COARTEM, anti-malaria tablets, by the end of the year.

"Dr Fortes revealed that the government will launch on April 25 an anti-larvae program with the aim to boost the campaign against the disease" (AngolaPress)

Source:
AngolaPress. "Malaria cases dropped. . ." 18 April 2010.
USAID. Country Profile: Angola. May 2008. http://www.usaid.gov/press/factsheets/2006/CP_Angola_6-06.pdf