Dolisie , Congo - UNICEF representative in Congo, Dr Koern Vanormelingen says that malaria kills some 21,000 children under five years of age in the country every year.

"Out of nearly 730,000 children aged under years, 85,790 die annually from various causes and 21,000 from malaria," Dr. Vanormelingen alarmed here Thursday.

He spoke at the launch of the campaign "Train against Malaria" which left Congo's main economic and industrial city, Pointe-Noire in the Thursday for Dolisie, the country's third major city over 400 km in the south-west of Brazzaville.

These figures clearly show hat malaria remains the first cause of mortality and morbidity among under five year-old children in Congo, the UNICEF representative added.

To mitigate the problem, the Congolese government plans to make access to insecticide-treated mosquito nets easier for children and pregnant women by conducting a huge national campaign for free distribution of mosquito nets next October along with immunisation against measles, supplementing in vitamin A and intestinal de-worming for children.

For this campaign, 500,000 mosquito nets are already available 300, 000 of which offered by the Japanese government and another 200,000 buy US citizens, Dr Vanormelingen noted.

He called for the contribution of the Congolese private sector to ensure the success of this campaign.

"I am also urging the Congolese private sector partner to contribute to this campaign in kind or cash," the UNICEF representative said while urging managers of private companies in Congo to sponsor families or communities lacking access to insecticide-treated mosquito nets.

"Company managers can ensure the distribution of these mosquito nets to their staff and families," Dr. Vanormelingen observed.

The Congolese government also called on such managers to support the fight against malaria.

"I am calling on your support in the fight against this disease. I am appealing for the setting up of a national fund to fight malaria for which you will be the main partners," said Emilienne Raoul, Congo's minister of Health, Social Affairs and Family.

In Pointe-Noire and Dolisie, Raoul freely distributed a token sample of treated mosquito nets to children under five and to pregnant women.

Since 2005, the government has contributed for over US$4 million through UNICEF toward the fight against malaria in Congo.

Dolisie - 10/08/2007

Panapress

 

Credit: http://www.afriquenligne.fr/news/daily_news/unicef:_malaria_kills_21,000_children_yearly_in_congo_200708115579