Edward Mulenga and Sylvia Mweetwa
26 April 2008
Ndola — ZAMBIA will continue to be part of the global partnership against malaria because results show that success against the disease can only be achieved through collective effort.
And Vice-President, Rupiah Banda, has said Zambia is beginning to record reduced malaria cases as indicated in the 2007 health management information system.
Mr Banda said this in Livingstone yesterday when he graced the inaugural World Malaria Day at Mukuni Park.
He described Zambia's hosting of the event as an honour and that it was appropriate for Livingstone because the famous missionary and explorer, David Livingstone, had died of malaria.
Mr Banda said the Zambian Government noted the successes of collective efforts and hoped the current momentum would be sustained to a point where society would be free of malaria.
Mr Banda said malaria had ceased to be an African disease, but a global challenge, hence the more need for active involvement of international organisations.
He said the World Malaria Day was a culmination of commitment made by the African leaders in 2000 in Abuja, Nigeria, where they declared to reduce malaria illnesses and deaths by 50 per cent by the year 2010.
He said the theme of the World Malaria Day: 'Malaria - a disease without borders' with its accompanying slogan: 'United against malaria' was appropriate because the disease was now a global health problem.
The leaders signed the Abuja declaration targeting and pledging to introduce and intensify malaria control interventions such as ensuring 60 per cent of African people accessed cost-effective and affordable anti-malaria drugs.
The Abuja declaration also wanted to ensure 60 per cent of people, especially pregnant women and children, sleep under insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and that 60 per cent of pregnant women should access international preventive treatment (IPT).
The Vice-President said Zambia had made tremendous efforts towards achieving RBM goals, by placing health as a priority sector that addressed the attainment of the national development goals and malaria-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
He described the attendance of cooperating and implementing partners and faith-based organisations at the World Malaria Day as further evidence of a viable and credible partnership that positively impacted national malaria control programmes.
The event was attended by several dignitaries and spiced up by 31 cyclists who had started from Chitambo Mission in Serenje as a way of raising awareness against malaria.
Meanwhile, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will accelerate momentum against malaria through the Trans-Zambezi initiative joint venture to reduce the disease across borders.
SADC health ministers chairman, Brian Chituwo, said at the same function that it was hoped that the Trans-Zambezi cross border initiative would learn from the success story of the Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative, which was established to control malaria.
Dr Chituwo said the countries in the region would focus on scaling up malaria control measures and to work towards the total elimination of the disease.
And a team of 31 cyclists, who cycled from Serenje, has successfully completed their ride after covering a distance of 940 kilometres.
The team, which started off on Sunday, arrived in Livingstone at about 12:00 hours and received applause from the public on arrival at Mukuni Park.
Cyclists president, Expendito Chipalo, said the association was committed to join in raising awareness and fight against malaria.
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