Malaria has remained a heavy burden in Africa, with devastating effects on her socio-economy welfare. According to the World Health Organization's (WHO) weekly epidemiological records, the burden of malaria is weighing too heavy on the continent, especially with the poor.

Latest statistics hold that malaria kills between one to two million children each year in sub-Saharan Africa. Some 15 to 40 per cent of children with cerebral malaria, malaria associated acidosis and anemia, die, and half of the deaths occur within 12 hours after arrival at the hospital.

Records also show that malaria affects the lives of almost all people living on the African continent. This is because the majority of infections are caused by Plasmodium falciparum, the most dangerous of the four human malaria parasites. The infection rate, according to statistics, has also been influenced by the imposing presence of the most effective malaria vector- Anopheles gambiae, which is most difficult to control.

Children between 0 to five and pregnant women are the population groups at highest risk for malaria morbidity and mortality. It's recorded that over 90 per cent of all malaria deaths in Africa occur in young children. Most often, they experience their first malaria infections during the first one or two years after birth, in forms of cerebral malaria, anemia, diarrhea, respiratory infections and other delicate diseases. An estimated two per cent of children who recover from cerebral malaria infections suffer from learning impairment, disabilities, epilepsy and spasticity, according to the Africa Malaria Report of 2003.

It's recorded that over 90 per cent of all malaria deaths in Africa occur in young children.

It's also recorded that in all malaria endemic countries in Africa, 25 to 40 percent of all outpatient clinic visits are for malaria, while between 20 and 50 percent of hospital admission are a consequence of malaria.

In Cameroon, the situation is alarming. Research shows that morbidity among children, less than five years, stands at 0,06 per cent and 0,09 per cent for pregnant women, while malaria alone accounts for 40 to 45 per cent of medical consultations, 57 per cent of hospitalization days and 26 per cent of sick leaves.

There is, however, a light at the end of the tunnel. On November 13th to 19th of 2005, some 1,500 scientists, policymakers, African ministers, health care workers, community members and other experts on malaria will hold the fourth MIM Pan-African Malaria conference and Roll Back Malaria V Global Partners Forum in Yaounde. The Pan African Malaria conference, which is one of the largest meetings solely focusing on malaria, will collectively highlight an African wide effort to empower communities, battle complacency and eliminate barriers that hold back effective prevention and treatment from reaching the most vulnerable.

Echoes from the MIM secretariat indicate that news of the Yaounde conference has been received by Cameroon and other African countries with utmost satisfaction, as hopes remain high that African scientist and partners may come up with concrete strategies to prevent and cure the killer disease, malaria.






Contributed by Martin Nkematabong, November 9, 2005. Mr. Nkematabong is a writer for the Cameroon Tribune. Reprinted with permission from allAfrica.com.

To read another Global Envision article about Malaria, see Malaria Research 'Needs Ten Times More Funding'.



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