Simbao Hails Donor Support in Malaria Fight

Sylvia Mweetwa

3 May 2011

THE commemoration of the Malaria World Day every year normally brings about sad memories, especially to friends or relatives who lost their loved ones through this disease which is preventable.

People should then not continue to die of malaria because it can be prevented through concerted efforts by all.

Over the past decade, African countries have reduced confirmed malaria cases, or malaria admissions, and deaths by more than 50 per cent.

A World Bank study has noted a decrease in malaria cases in Zambia, Algeria, Botswana, Cape Verde, Eritrea, Madagascar, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, South Africa and Swaziland owing to intense control interventions these countries continue to formulate.

The World Bank has committed US$762.8 million since 2005 to the fight against malaria in Africa. it has also financed the purchase of 73.8 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets and 25.3 million doses of malaria medication over the past five years.

“Sustained anti-malaria efforts are needed in Africa, which bears about 90 per cent of the world’s malaria burden.

Recent gains, though significant, are fragile and the danger of resurgence remains very real,” notes Maryse Pierre-Louis, programme leader of the World Bank’s Disease Control Programme in Africa in an interview.

This year, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria and the United States President’s Malaria initiative will continue to support the distribution of treated mosquito nets.

With this financial and technical support from partners, including the World Bank and the Russian Federation, Zambia will continue to make tremendous progress in fighting malaria.

In 2006 and last year, expansion of programmes resulted in widespread prevention and treatment of malaria.

The share of under-five children who slept under a net increased from 24 per cent to 50 per cent. Malaria incidences fell and the share of children with severe anemia (largely caused by malaria) declined from 14 per cent to nine per cent.

However last year, malaria showed a resurgence as revealed in the Malaria Indicator Survey of 2010 owing to reduced distribution of treated nets and indoor residual spraying.

In the Northern Province, for example, parasite prevalence among children increased from 12 in 2008 to 23 per cent in 2010.

For this reason, the World Bank has provided US$30 million for malaria control in Zambia and the funds were approved in December 2010 and would enabled 800,000 nets to be procured and delivered before the rainy season hits peak.

An additional 2.2 million nets are currently being procured while the World Bank funds would also support indoor spraying, diagnostics, and supply chain improvements.

The Zambian Government has remained resolute to fighting malaria as Minister of Health Kapembwa Simbao said when he officiated at this year’s Malaria Day which was held in Mkushi.

Mr Simbao hailed the World Bank for providing $30 million and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for providing $25 million towards malaria control interventions.

He said the impact of reducing malaria remained key to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to ensuring a free malaria Zambia.

Mr Simbao said in a speech read for him by Central Province Minister Ackimson Banda that the Government appreciated the support from the World Bank and USAID under the President’s Malaria Initiative as such assistance remained cardinal in fighting malaria and reducing deaths.

The minister stressed that reducing the impact of malaria in Zambia was key to the achievement of the MDGs on health, emphasising that the challenge of achieving a malaria-free Zambia was to remain focused and target scale-up actions in all epidemiological zones.

He added that to intensify interventions, additional resources had been mobilised by the Government and cooperating partners to ensure effective implementation of malaria control initiatives.

Mr Simbao said the successes recorded in the malaria fight in Zambia could only be attributed to broadened the roll-back malaria partnership and engagement of communities.

At the same function, USAID resident advisor Allen Craig reaffirmed his Government’s support to Zambia’s initiatives of fighting malaria and expressed happiness with the progress made in reducing cases of malaria.

“The American people are supporting Zambia’s malaria control efforts by purchasing 1.4 million mosquito nets that have just arrived and will be distributed soon,” Mr Craig said.

He said during the last indoor spraying season, USAID helped support the spraying of 1.3 million homes protecting 6.5 million Zambians, and the organisation was happy to partner with Zambia in ventures aimed at saving lives.

WHO country representative Olusegun Babaniy hailed the Zambian Government’s stance to fighting malaria and challenged the civil society, churches and others to partner in combating malaria.

Mr Babaniy reaffirmed WHO’s continued support to Zambia in fighting malaria, saying the body would continue to work with member states and partners to mainstream malaria control in health and development polices and plans and mobilise domestic and external funding.

Stanbic Bank is another partner that is making a contribution towards the fight against malaria, and its head of marketing and public relations Kamiza Chikula said the bank was serious in creating strong partnerships with other global stakeholders in an effort to combat the disease.

Mr Chikula said the bank had been a strong global player in the fight against malaria, having jointly won the United Against Malaria award last year along side MTN and Nando’s in recognition of its efforts in the fight against the disease.

He said the bank in Zambia had partnered with the Ministry of Health and the National Malaria Control Centre in creating a strong synergy in finding workable solutions to limit and eradicate the incidence of malaria.

During the commemoration, the Government and its cooperating partners set up a tent where both the old and young were being tested for malaria and were issued with free mosquito nets.

By 12.00 hours, more than 100 people had been attended to with a number of them asking the Government to be setting up these centres instead of restricting such activities to hospitals.

Mr Mulenga Mwaba, a Mkushi resident, said setting up such ventures would be the best way of saving lives because the atmosphere was friendly as compared to the hospital or clinic.

There is, therefore, no doubt that with the support of every citizen, Zambia shall fight and conquer malaria.

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