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Post date: Jul 28, 2009 7:51:57 PM
Our outfit wishes to express our concern over the recently launched Malaria Programme by the Ghanaian government in Eastern Region of Ghana and it implication for the nation.
While we commend the Ghanaian government for taking seriously the threat of Malaria and initiating a project to curtail it, we however want to point out some serious flaws and it implication for the nation.
Before we move further, we will like to state categorically that, Malaria are not confined to only tropical areas as many people believe and that they also thrive in cooler areas. The epidemic of Malaria in the Soviet Union in the 1920’s which also reached up to the Arctic Circle confirms this assertion.
Also, the United States and some parts of Canada, Europe, North Africa and some parts of the middle east has successfully eradicated Malaria under multi faceted approach with real time lines, budgets and serious commitment by leadership in those countries.
We assets that, the failure of this initiative to take case studies from successful initiatives around the world and replicate same here will lead to an unprecedented rise in Malaria cases and death in the next few years. In 1955 after the successful insecticide aerial spraying by United States with DDT to eradicate Malaria, the WHO initiated an Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) programme globally (excluding Africa) which led to reduction in death cause by Malaria in the short-term but death escalated when WHO due to financial constraints could not sustain the exercise. IRS is expensive and unsustainable and the government should stop investing in it.
While Research has shown that, IRS is only 25% effective due to the predisposition of the Malaria parasite in our region which not only bite indoors but also outdoors, we therefore want to remind the operators of the initiatives of the 75% gap and how they intend to deal with it for Ghana to achieve 0% death due to Malaria.
We wish to remind to the so call Malaria advocates and consultants that, eliminating malaria in Africa is going to be more difficult than anywhere in the world, due to its endemic nature. The African mosquito has the longest lifespan of any of its foreign cousins, the old mosquitoes are the most dangerous ones, and as a result it is going to take the latest in Western technology to break the parasite transmission cycle. This technology consists of an aircraft equipped with a high pressure aerosol generator, treating the entire environment the mosquito lives in, effectively eliminating the mosquito.
There is a failure of imagination and leadership in Ghana and Africa with respect to the solution for the elimination of malaria. The elimination of malaria using our propose method would cost only a fraction of what is being expended at present to institutionalize failure in this endeavour.
We are therefore calling on the Minister of Health to initiate an efficient Aerial Spraying programme as he promised the nation on 25th April 2009 at the International Conference Centre during the celebration of the World Malaria Day.
Signed:
Hayford Siaw
Executive Director- Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa
+ 233 21 928245
+ 233 24 3340112.
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