A new vaccine against the deadly malaria which has been 30 years in development, is now available for the first time to infants in Malawi. This was made public on Tuesday 23rd April 2019, by WHO which marks an “innovation milestone”. This is inline with the world malaria day commemorated world wide on the 25th of April 2019 under the theme “End Malaria for Good’.
According to WHO, in Cameroon Malaria causes 22% of deaths occurring in health care facilities. In children under 5 years of age, 10% of deaths are linked to malaria. From 2016 to 2017 there was a slight increase in malaria cases by about 2%. Malaria-related mortality decreased by 4% from 2016 to 2017. This is due to free intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women implemented since 2005, the free treatment of simple and severe malaria for children under 5 years since February 2011 and 2014 respectively and the reduction of the cost of simple malaria treatment in hospital to less than 300 FCFA.
In a bid to curb malaria in our local area, Community members have work in synergy with the government to fight malaria by:
• Avoid standing water around the house: this is a favourable breathing ground for mosquitoes.
• Always sleep under treated mosquito nets.
• Use insecticide: always spray insecticide in the house to help kill mosquitoes at home especially about 45 mins before sleeping.
Maikem Emmanuela Manzie
