By Kini Nsom, Edith Wirdze & Victorine Biy Yongka
Experts involved in the fight against malaria have indicated the necessity of an effective communication for the eradication of malaria.
Considering that malaria remains the world's number one killer disease and kills one child every 30 seconds, experts have come up with the Global Malaria Action Plan, GMAP, a unique approach that will be used in combating malaria and eventually eliminating the disease.
For GMAP to be successful, effective communication is necessary because studies have indicated that although malaria is the highest killer, many people do not have information about the disease.
In order to have an effective communication, the Cameroon Coalition Against Malaria, CCAM, in collaboration with the National Malaria Control Programme, NMCP, and the UN Information Centre, UNIC, organised an orientation session for journalists at the CCAM Courtyard in the Bastos neighbourhood in Yaounde, December 17.
To redress the situation, GMAP outlines a three-part strategy: control, elimination and research. At the session, the Drive Against Malaria members, David Robertson and Julia Samuel, who have been travelling across the continent to analyse the situation, expressed the urgent necessity for the proper dissemination of information.
They said many people are not informed about the disease, making it difficult for it to be stamped out. They regretted that although malaria is the highest killer, the prices of malaria medicines are relatively high in Cameroon, making it difficult for the poor to purchase these drugs for treatment.
They lamented also that although the long lasting mosquito net started in 2005, it is still non-existent in Cameroon, and people are not aware of this powerful malaria weapon.
The Manager of CCAM, Dr. Esther Talla, said the issue of long lasting mosquito net is just starting in Cameroon. To her, malaria can be eradicated just like other diseases that have been eradicated in the world such as small pox.
She explained that the GMAP control involves prevention and treatment. For prevention, long lasting insecticidal nets, in-door residual spraying and the preventive therapy during pregnancy will be used. Treatment will involve prompt diagnosis, the prescription of artemisinin combination therapy, ACT, and the chloroquine and primaquine therapy.
She highlighted that malaria is caused by plasmodium falciparum, ovale, malariae and vivax. Out of the four types, it is only vivax that is lacking in Cameroon. Thus, drugs that are used for the treatment of vivax, she cautioned, cannot be used in Cameroon.
The GMAP approach focuses on tools and strategies to eradicate malaria, new drugs and vaccines, new vector control methods and new mechanisms for efficient delivery and quality assurance with research underlying each step of control.
GMAP was launched September 25, 2008, in New York, where the UN Secretary General called for stakeholders to make some pledges and commitments towards the eradication of malaria. It consolidates the collective input of 30 endemic countries and regions, 65 international institutions, and 250 experts from a wide range of fields.
Participants appreciated the efforts of David and Julia in fighting malaria. Although Julia is a cancer patient and David has just one arm and a leg, he drives across the continent in very harsh conditions and they distribute mosquito nets and give information about malaria.
He has driven across the marshy areas of the Ngoketunjia Division in the Northwest Region and the extremely bad roads like that of Mamfe in the Southwest Region, to distribute mosquito nets and disseminate information related to the fight against malaria.
What is everyone else with similar climates: India, Malaysia, Central America doing to put much better control over malaria. Florida in the US used to have malaria. Malaria is our number 1 enemy in Africa, but we have been joking around.
Posted by: Ma Mary | Wednesday, 24 December 2008 at 09:14 AM
Davis and Julia's efforts are extremely inspiring. Hope they are able to influence policy to be able to bring long lasting change.
Posted by: Vidya Raghavan | Sunday, 05 July 2009 at 10:33 AM