Make Malaria History

It is indeed heartening to see the efforts being made by the Government of The Gambia in relation to the eradication of malaria. The Vice-President Dr. Ajaratou Isatou Njie Saidy recently launched the “Operation Eradicate Malaria” project and this move must be welcomed. Malaria is a serious threat to our national development. Our health is our wealth in The Gambia. A strong population free of the scourge of sickness will work far more effectively to keep our nation on the road to development.

Mrs. Njie Saidy stated at the launch of the project that the ultimate goal is a disease-free Gambia and the current twin objectives in the short and medium term are to increase the understanding and management of non-communicable diseases and reduce the burden of communicable diseases to a level that will cease to be a public problem.

This is a mammoth task. It will require massive organisation and a continuous and sustained concentration of resources if it is to be achieved.

Announcements such as the one we saw this week are very good at grabbing headlines but to be truly effective they must be followed through to the bitter end.

There have been great strides made in the fight against malaria in recent times. At the Launch the Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Malick Njie, stated that The Gambia tops Africa in attaining the Abuja target of insecticide treated bed net used by children and pregnant women. This, he said, stands at 54%, just 6% less than the Abuja target of 60%.

He revealed that results from recent studies conducted by his department and partners, show there was an 84% reduction in the proportion of cases admitted by 2006 and a 93% reduction in the number of malaria positive slides.

These are staggering figures and all paperwork pertaining to them should be circulated to our neighbours both in the sub-region and the rest of the continent so that other nations might learn from our success and protect their populations from this terrible disease.

The Abuja target is a very laudable one but we must aim for 100% insecticide treated bed net use by the population of The Gambia. We must stay in the forefront in Africa in fighting this disease.

While the proposed factory that will produce biolarvacides both for domestic use and export to the sub-region will doubtless prove beneficial and generate revenue, there are additional measures which can be taken immediately.

The Government, before the deluge of the rainy season hits, must redouble their public education campaigns with regard to the life cycle and breeding habits of the mosquito. Standing water must become a thing of the past if it can be avoided. If people are educated to take simple yet very effective steps then the positive trends outlined by the Secretary of State can continue into the future.

By working together we can make this terrible disease a thing of the past and save future generations of Gambians from losing loved ones including breadwinners.