Should Malaria Continue To Kill?

It is an established fact that malaria is wasting away precious lives of majority people. And it is striking to know that the battle against malaria is seemingly being lost. Apart from the fact that malaria exacts significant cost burden on health cost, it is making life unbearable for under-five children and pregnant women. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Africa accounts for over 90% of the 1.5 to 2 million global malaria deaths yearly. In several countries, the plague is hardest on children from ages 1-5 with a child dying every 30 seconds.

According to the study conducted by the Ministry of Health in 2008, estimated annual economic cost of reported malaria case alone in Ghana is US$772.4 million where the figure is hovering around US$32.65 per person.

With seemingly uncommitted political will of our leaders, the disease has inflicted tattered penury on the already poor. It is against this backdrop that the fight against malaria should be treated with precision and a sense of urgency. With recent advances in technology the scenario that current methods of controlling malaria are achieving modest results should not be created anymore. Despite the increase funds made available to fight malaria, thousands of millions of people are still reeling under the threat of the disease. In 2006, the Global Fund alone distributed about 18 million insecticide treated bed nets and reached 5.3 million patients with artemisinin- based therapies (ACTs). The challenges of malaria are many and complex and addressing some but not others is an act of futility because the remaining constraints will exert a leveling effect so powerful that whatever gains have been made would eventually dissipate.

In essence, malaria can be dealt with to save lives. Nonetheless the deserving question to pose is can we eradicate or control malaria using the available strategies of bed nets distribution and anti-malarial drugs?

In practical perspective, it is imperative that the country adopts vector control mechanisms towards malaria control. This involves steps in decimating malaria parasite right from the breeding ground. In Ghana, the state of the environment is nothing to write home about. Stagnant waters are left to breed malaria only to our risk. Water reservoirs in our environments have served as breeding sites for these mosquitoes. Bushy areas around our various vicinities have also been a very conducive environment for the insect as a result of the waning responsibilities as inhabitants to come together to clear these areas. Can we really make our environment uncomfortable for this mosquito? It is also important to know that our environment has been a major problem in controlling malaria in our country. This brings into focus the aspect of personal protection measures. In hindsight, the effectiveness of personal protection measures should not be overlooked. It is imperative the ordinary Ghanaian developed the attitudes that would keep the environment safe and neat. This will nip the tragedy in the bud. Let’s begin to motivate ourselves that the incidence of malaria can be reduced by forming positive attitude toward our environment.

The environment is where the vector parasites reside. Let’s come together as each others keeper because the disease is destroying families, marriages and social compacts in our communities. By the methods of managing our utilities such as water, refuse and bushy areas in our environment is another way of healthy living and a healthy growth. Education of the ordinary Ghanaian should remain the most sustainable strategy in fighting the disease that has brought untold hardships to people.

The recent research as suggested by international team of researchers that efforts to eradicate malaria in some countries may be counter-productive should provide the impetus toward formulating feasible strategies to eradicate the disease. In the Lancet, they criticised the WHO for not providing adequate direction. The research is not far from right considering the fact that the WHO and even the Global Fund have concentrated enough funds on the curative aspect rather than the preventive though residual indoor spraying has of late assumed heightened attention. It is against this backdrop that we believe that the ultimate goal of eradicating malaria could be achieved when enough funds are channeled to preventive mechanisms. By this, education of the people in the way of increased sensitization on the importance of the environmental cleanliness should remain the utmost priority.

Also, bringing to bear the strategy of aerial application would be a landmark solution to the menace as has been successful in Palm Beach County, Florida, US where the area has been treated in only 3 hours and 20 minutes saving the County $200,000 dollars in insecticide use and malaria eradication.

The current use of bed nets and ACTs are not been regarded as ineffective but that malaria should be tackled with a holistic approach. Therefore, as much as WHO and the Global Fund invest so much in bed nets distribution and ACTs, field testing aerial application of insecticides should be equally resourced to see its effectiveness in especially Sub-Saharan Africa and Ghana to be specific. We believe that it is a complete act of futility in dealing with curative and neglecting the preventive aspects. The asymmetry of malaria funding should be reconsidered from the practical perspective. There is no doubt that malaria can be eradicated in Africa and for that matter Ghana. The report which included authors like Professor Richard Feacham of University of California's Global Health Group and researchers from the Clinton Health Access Initiative stated that "If existing control efforts were indeed scaled up, by 2015, 1.14 million children's lives could be saved in sub-Saharan Africa alone. This finding is important. The quest for elimination must not distract existing good malaria control work." This gives the right indication that contemporary efforts should receive the needed boost.

In conclusion, we cannot just allow malaria to cheaply take away precious lives. Mosquitoes can complicate lives and make it unbearable. Fellow Ghanaians, government institutions and other non-governmental organizations, let us come together through health education, community participation and consensus with a positive attitude that together we can help fight malaria. The youth who are more vulnerable to malaria are of necessity to the development dreams of the country. They are vital human resource and as such incapacitating the potentials of these future leaders, is an indication of a failed economy. So let’s prevent malaria now!!!!

This article was co-authored by Stephen Yeboah, National Coordinator for Osagyefo Network for Rural Development (OSNERD) (stephenyeboah110@yahoo.com) and Ernestina Asantewaa Mensah, Wenchi Methodist Hospital, Brong Ahafo Region (tinamens201@yahoo.com)