A joint report issued Tuesday by the UN and the World Bank voiced some optimism about malaria and several of the world’s other deadly diseases, predicting better health and prosperity in the next decade for impoverished countries like Cambodia.
The report “claims that worsening AIDS, TB and malaria epidemics are not inevitable,” according to a statement issued by the two world bodies. “What is needed are the funds and systems that will enable widespread implementation of actions that have shown to be effective.”
Worldwide, more than 1 million people die from malaria each year. But that doesn’t have to be the case, the report states, citing Vietnam as an example of a success.
In that country, a government program issued free insecticide-treated mosquito nets and high-quality drugs helped reduce the deaths from malaria by 97 percent in a five-year period, the statement said.
In Vietnam, “the concerted drive against the disease involved a major investment in training and disease reporting systems, the use of mobile teams to supervise health workers, and the mobilization of volunteer health workers.”
Cambodia, which similarly distributes nets through the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization, has suffered setbacks in the fight against malaria due to the selling of fake or expired drugs in the market.
More rapid and effective treatment of malaria with anti-malarial drugs could prevent malaria deaths. Because of the threat malaria poses to people in poor countries,who can be treated with anti-malarial drugs for as little as $0.12, the UN has launched Roll Back Malaria, a defined strategy for fighting the mosquito-borne illness.
The strategy includes the following: “access to rapid diagnosis and treatment at village/community level; preventive treatment for pregnant women; multiple measures to prevent mosquito bites; a focus on mothers and children—the highest risk groups; research to develop new medicines, vaccines and other tools; and improved surveillance to improve epidemic forecasting and response,” the statement says. “Many child deaths from malaria can be prevented through the widespread use of low-cost, insecticide-treated bednets.”
The report, “Health, a Key to Prosperity: Success Stories in Developing Countries,” was published for a December meeting of G8 countries in Japan.
Despite the signs of optimism contained in it, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said: “There’s widespread skepticism about controlling disease in the developing world. In light of this report, such fatalism is simply unacceptable.”
