Only a Clean Environment Sustainably Kicks Out Malaria

Cause of the death of a child every second, infects 350-500 million people every year, and kills more than 1 million people in the world. These are the numbers, which according to the United Nations’ Children Funds(UNICEF), which best describe the toll of Malaria on  our world’s inhabitants- especially  those in Africa where more than 90% of  Malaria deaths occur and where Malaria accounts for more than 20 % of child deaths(UNICEF)

Women and children suffer from Malaria. When infected during pregnancy, the toll of Malaria is heavier not only on the mother but above all on the child. This is because Malaria is associated with severe anaemia and a host of illnesses affecting the pregnant woman and her unborn baby. The health of the pregnant woman thus made fragile, the risk of giving birth to a child with high exposure to sub-optimal growth and development hazards which are also leading causes of infant mortality.

Recent research has proven that a combination of Malaria and HIV is an explosive cocktail. According to scientists, Placental malaria increases the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission. This besides the above makes Malaria the number one killer disease in Africa (http://www.thebody.com/content/art13512.html)

The above statistics and facts from the United Nations Children Fund(UNICEF) on Malaria leaves no one indifferent and is the reason why Combating Malaria has in recent times become such a priority to governments in Africa and the rest of the developing world. The fight against Malaria by the international community it should be acknowledged has transcended speeches and declarations to become effective action. Thus in a bid to eradicate this disease and its effects on the maternal and child health, many initiatives have been taken.

 LAUDABLE BUT NOT VERY EFFICIENT APPROACH TO KICK OUT MALARIA

While international donors, governments, and Non-Governmental Organizations are to be lauded for these initiatives, the efficiency of the approaches adopted by policy makers to fight against Malaria is questionable and merits to be carefully reconsidered.

‘Malaria is a very bad disease; Malaria is a very bad disease. We must drive mosquitoes away’. This is the chorus of a song we sang during our hygiene classes in primary school. This song moves on to say how we must keep our environment clean by avoiding stagnant waters around the home to drive Mosquitoes away. As illustrated by wordings from this primary school song, the environment in which one lives determines how prone one is or is not to been infected by Malaria.

THE BEST DEFENCE IS ATTACK

In a country with majority of its people in rural areas and living below the poverty line and where poor housing and horrible living conditions are the order of the day , the fight against malaria should not be limited to the distribution of Mosquito treated bed nets and making the treatment of Malaria free to children below 5 years. While these moves are laudable, their sustainability is in doubt as this could be fairly compared to problem reduction rather than problem solving.

Most people in Cameroon, daily use the saying that, the best way to defend one’s self or property is to attack all those who are considered as threats. Personally, I do not totally agree with this saying but when it comes to the fight against malaria, I think the saying makes sense. Conscious of the  fact that  warm climates, which are predominant in Africa,  are a very important factor to  the development and survival of both  the mosquito and  malaria parasite(http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100303162906.htm ), it is but normal it is a reality that the fight against malaria would be more efficient if the fight is not against malaria but against Mosquitoes and I think there is no better way of attacking them than by attacking their habitat.

SUSTAIN THE ENVIRONMENT TO SUSTAIN GAINS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST MALARIA

I am intimately convinced that, if people keep their environment clean and avoid all those behaviours which are favourable conditions for the establishment and proliferation of mosquitoes, Malaria will be made history. Such behaviours will of course only be sustained by government’s action in this light. Thus, if accompanied by laws and policies which encourages individual initiatives to keep the environment clean, safe, and free of mosquitoes  while punishing not only individuals but also the business community for any acts perpetrated by them which are harmful to the environment Malaria will be out powered. Trying to make Malaria history by merely providing   insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), as it s done now, will only contribute to making this dream a nightmare.

Therefore, as governments and international funding bodies involve in the fight against malaria organize events and activities to mark this year’s World Malaria Day(celebrated under the theme: Sustain Gains, Save Lives: Invest in Malaria) on April 25th, they must keep in mind for any  fight against Malaria and its effects on infant and maternal health to bear fruits that will last, environmental protection   must be  put at the heart of Malaria eradication programs and  the living conditions of the people in Malaria prone areas , through various empowerment and poverty alleviation  programs,  must be improved upon. This is imperative if Cameroon, which is ranked 18th amongst the 20 countries in the world with the highest mortality for children under the age of 5, is to achieve the Health related Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) and make real its dreams of becoming an emerging nation by 2035.

Besides the above, environmental  policies which severely punishes  corporations, which through industrial activities, contributes to making our climate  warmer, thereby providing a fertile ground for the proliferation of mosquitoes and spread of Malaria, should put in place by governments to reduce global warming and the spread of Malaria.

Truly, to sustain gains and save Lives from the wrath of Malaria, we should invest in making our environment cleaner, safer, and more sustainable.