World Bank Launches Malaria Week

By Bongben Leocadia

The World Bank has launched the Malaria Week as part of activities that would culminate in the celebration of the 6th African Day of Malaria on April 25.

The ceremony that held at the World Bank premises in Yaounde on Wednesday, April 19, brought together Youth for Peace groups from four State universities and eight other schools in Yaounde amongst which were Lycée Le Clerc, Lycée Bilingue Essos, Collége Adventist, University of Yaounde 1 and 2, and Institutes Siantu and Dissamba.

The launching falls under the framework of canvassing for substantial support by the World Bank to roll back malaria, which is known to kill more than 3000 people daily in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr. Raphael Therese Okala Abodo, Permanent Secretary of the National Malaria Control Committee, traced the history of the African Malaria Day to the Heads of State summit in Abuja, Nigeria, in 2000.

Dr. Okala said everyone in the risk regions carries malaria parasites. He said when there is accumulation of the parasite people become ill. He identified children under the age of five and pregnant women as most vulnerable groups.

Okala emphasised that besides social problems, malaria drains resources. He, therefore, urged the students to take home the message of prevention through the use of impregnated mosquito nets, and on the need to embark on general hygiene. A practical demonstration of treating mosquito nets with insecticides marked the occasion during which two students each from the schools put the lesson learnt to practice.

Treated Mosquito Nets Efficient…

At a press conference held recently by the National Malaria Control Committee Dr. Okala echoed the use of treated mosquito nets as the most efficient and cost effective method of preventing malaria.

He urged the public to treat their mosquito nets, adding that the committee would embark on free treatment of the nets during the Malaria Week as opposed to the FCFA 500 being the cost of treatment.

Okala said malaria remains a public health problem in Cameroon it disturbs 50 percent of pregnancies and causes 35-40 percent of deaths.Reacting to allegations of sales of mosquito nets meant for pregnant women and children, especially at the University Hospital Centre, Yaounde, Okala said judicial measures would be taken against perpetrators of such acts.

He equally debunked assumptions that little emphasis is put on treatment, stating that 83 percent of funds available have been channelled for the purchase of medicine.
The African Malaria Day will be commemorated under theme "Unite Against Malaria: Access To Effective Treatment is a Human Right."

Comments

[rexon]

The world bank is part of the conspiracy by developed nations to colonise the southern Cameroons and other poor people in the world. Theories and ideologies they have supported have not been working in developing countries of africa. Yet they stand to defend governments that follow their soo called HIPC, etc.

Mr Director of the world bank, other workers with the world bank, etc. do tell me if you are not aware that privatisation, globalisation, democracy, socialism, human rights, etc have all been tools used by the jews and the rich to colonise the poor. When we get our independence, we will not tolerate a government that play with such words to colonise us. You have given la republique a tool called privatisation that they are using to steal our resources and sell to you and your subjects.

[Gaston Poufong]

A substantial number of people especially children and pregnant women lost their lives every year in Cameroon because of malaria fever. Malaria should be considered as an epidemic as serious as HIV/AIDS because of the number of people who die every year and the amount of financial resources that families devote to decreasing the malaria parasite load from their bodies.

The World Bank campaign to help Cameroonians resist malaria infection is pitiable and only useful for propaganda effects. The Cameroon government should wake up and take this epidemic disease seiously if the government really wants to help her citizens. A Task Force at the ministerial level need to be formed to eradicate once and for all the malaria parasite from Cameroon should be formed. Measures such as populating sterile female mosquitos whose mating with male mosquitos would be fruitless should be implemented. Resources such aerial spraying of mosquito breeding areas should be considered, and campaigns to educate ordinary citizens to protect themselves from mosquitos should be implemented.

Financially, the govenment must fund talented Cameroonian researchers to come up with a malaria vacine. Surely with the pool of scientific talent that Cameroon is endowed with,one outstanding Cameroonian scientist can make this breakthrough for the good of all Cameroonians.

All these multifaceted approach will surely help reduce the malaria scourge that torment us, not a one-time a year ineffective public relations ploy by the World Bank to portray that they care about our suffering from the malaria parasite.

[Celestine Fosung Nke]

Mr Rexon

What kind of colonization are you still talking about to this day?. The colonization debate you profers on every issue concerning development is ridiculous. Though colonization has been a major set back to our develoment, we cannot cling and hold tight to this argument while the rest of the world keeps advancing. We cannot continuesly refer to the West as the sole source of our problem.

There are a lot of issues we can work on and strenghten our development goals. One of which is democracy, and good governance. Corruption and the absence of democratic institutions cannot be blamed on the West. There are many initiatives put forward by the world bank, that, if well implimented,taken into consideration our local realities, will go a long way to solve small, but meaningful steps towards real development.

I find your colonization argument to have no grounds and totally baseless at this point in time.

Reports says Cameroon has failed to reach the HIPC initiative for a record second time. Is it the world bank and the West that will have to come in and provide managers we need to shore up our development?

Lets get our politics right and strengthen democratic institutions, ans alot jobs to those who deserve them rightfully, and reward hardwork rather than encouragement graft and laziness as a public sector way of life.

The debate now should have moved from colonization to what can be done to push forward our common strenghts, while strengthening the areas we are weak at.

Africa cannot keep the blame game going on. Take a look at other countries equally colonized like Cameroon, and they are way ahead of us.

I do not see any colonial administrator in Buea, or Yaounde. If our leaders play into their hands and seek to preserve their jobs rather than work for the people, then you better restate your colonization ideology.

Probably, you are finding another suitable way to describe our despotic rulers.

[rexon]

Celestine Fosung Nke,

You can colonise the mind, the brains and the ideology of people in such a way that they cannot reason properly. You can do that through different ideological strategies. They can be divide and rule policies, the utilisation of choice of words, the underestimation of other peoples ability, the assumption of superiority complexes by some people at the expense of others, etc.

I can cite you some choice of words that has been employed in recent times to colonise our resources and others, cam-no-go, scartch my back i scratch your own, bamenda man, bangwaman, 99 sense, human rights, democracy advancee, privatisation, globalisation, etc.

When we use this words, we should use them for the right motives. of course, our experience studying this words when used by its proponents has shown that their motivations was strictly to colonise our minds.

We are busy teaching for example privatisation in schools why a small group of oligarchs and jewish businessmen are busy using it to colonise the poor. Roman abramovich, Baba Danpullo, etc are just an example of people who have benefitted from alleged conspiracies to use this words to colonise us.

[Tayong(Copenhagen)]

Guys ,some of you who have been claiming and boasting about your bilingualism prowess and dexterity , there is an article just published at the Cameroon-info.net on Danger facing Cameroon if Biya kicks the bucket suddenly. I have just left an article there that the first catastrophy will be the anglophone issue that will spark off if he continues to minimize and play down the issue instead of solving it.
Dr AA ,NAN and others over to you.Forget this Akonteh issue.Akonteh went to the parliament ,what did he do to the Bafut people? When he was still NW provincial chairman for the SDF he could swallow fire and drink blood if anyone dared doubt the potentials of the SDF ,where is he today?
Nkemgu cursed and condemned the CPDM in Lebialem and levied the demises of his people on the regime in place, where is he today? CPDM.One time firebrand SDF South West provicial chairman (Tabetsi if remember) pulled crouds everywhere he went in the SOUTH west, where is he today? CPDM
Mbella Sone Dipoko one time satirical ,Cameroon Wole Soyinka, a man who wrote and laid bear all the skeletons in the cupboard of the regime in place .Today where is he? CPDM ,while his Nigerian counterpart remains adamant to his believes.
The list is too long.....All these guys are belly politicians . So rise up to shout the call of the anglophone man. Look at what Quebec in Canada is today?We can be like them

God save Cameroon
Tayong

[Ashwell Molaba]

Fosung Nke,

I agree with you that this colonisation talk is becoming too monotonous. No doubt the powers that be ignore it. Ibrahim Babangida in a recent publication said, while it is our legitimate right to complain about the ills of colonialism, we should go beyond colonialism bashing. In the book Capitalist Nigger, the Nigerian-American author asks many a pertinent question to the African. This whole idea of blaming and blaming coloniasm for every thing we have suffered is plain shortsighted. We need to identify the real causes of our problems as you rightly pointed out. Getting rid of coloniasm is not a panacea for all Cameroonian or Africa problems. The Japanese are not waiting for the Americans to leave their country before the develop.