SIR: Last week, the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Azubuike Ihejirika, disclosed that the Boko Haram sect has killed 3,000 people in the last few years. That is a high figure by all means and the menace needs a prompt solution. But by the end of this year, it is estimated that 300,000 Nigerians will have been killed, not by Boko Haram, nor through community clashes, road accidents, plane crashes, or war, but by a vicious killer called malaria. That figure is the combined population of five countries: Seychelles, Andorra, Dominica, Liechtenstein and San Marino.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa; it is also the most hard-hit by malaria in the entire globe. Often referred to as ‘the disease of poverty,’approximately 50 percent of all malaria cases occur in only five of the world’s countries. Nigeria has the unenviable distinction of placing first among inflicted countries by raking up 23 per cent of all reported cases. Inflicting much pain and suffering, malaria not only destroys lives, but tears apart families and cripples the ability of countries to move forward.
According to Nigeria’s National Malaria Control Programme, some 90 million of the country’s total population of 169 million are affected by malaria annually. Over 300,000 Nigerians perish as a result of the disease each year, a figure which represents ten per cent of the yearly death total in the African continent. Malaria is a cruel disease which strikes people of all ages, and 30 per cent of infant deaths in the country can be attributed to complications stemming from malarial infection. The disease also contributes to Nigeria’s ongoing economic issues, costing the developing country an average 160 billion naira (one billion dollars) a year in medical expenses and lost hours of productivity.
As yet, no efficacious vaccine has been developed to combat malaria. In affected regions of the world, the only defence people have is the near-impossible task of avoiding mosquito bites. For this specific reason, malaria relief efforts to date have centred on mosquito net donation programmes. Sleeping under insecticide-treated nets has proven to be somewhat effective, preventing five to six out of every 1,000 children they protect from being infected, according to independent non-profit organization, the Cochrane Collaboration. Aerosols and coils are also known to be effective in combating the malaria scourge. Locally developed repellants have also been ascertained to be effective in the fight against these noxious insects in most rural settlements. As good as these measures are, they have harmful and side effects to human health.
With our limited means of defence against the disease, malaria is once again on the rise. Recent research by Dr. Vincent Corbel and a team of French scientists, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, shows that malaria-carrying mosquitoes are developing a tolerance to the various insecticides employed against them. Corbel’s research also notes a shift in the insects’ feeding habits, circumventing the use of mosquito nets by concentrating their attacks outdoors.
The challenge is to eradicate mosquitoes completely. But since that is a long shot, the onus is on all stakeholders to find a more effective way of preventing mosquitoes from biting people, especially young children and pregnant women. Organizations as well as government agencies should take this as a challenge. In recent times, the Global Fund has saved more than 7.7 million lives by funding treatment and preventative care programmes across the planet. Leading humanitarian agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Roll-Back Malaria (RBM) and DFID have over the years been committedto fighting malaria.
In the light of the present realities, it is expected that iconic innovative companies will invest more in research and development in order to come up with safe and affordable products that will ensure that the mosquitoes are entirely stamped out.
• Azuka Onwuka
Lagos, Nigeria.
azonwuka@yahoo.com
