John Sakala
25 April 2009
TODAY Zambia joins the rest of the World in commemoration the World Malaria Day, which falls on April 25 every year.
The theme for this year's commemorations is "Counting Malaria Out" as a life-threatening parasitic disease claiming over 1.5 million lives worldwide mainly in the tropical and sub-tropical regions.
The disease, which is transmitted by a bite of the female Anopheles mosquito in its quest for blood to nurture its eggs, is mainly confined to Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Other regions have already eradicated it! The challenge of controlling malaria in such areas has been aggravated by inadequate health structures and poor socio-economic conditions.
The situation has become even more complex over the last few years with the increase in resistance to the drugs such as chloroquine, normally used to combat the parasite that causes malaria which continues to claim many lives in Zambia, especially under-five children and pregnant mothers.
Like most countries, Zambia can boast of having once kicked out smallpox and polio. With regards to the eradication of smallpox and polio it was the Government, working with international institutions like the World Health Organisation that played the lead role.
It is still the same on-going efforts to combat malaria but the input of the private sector by such companies as Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) plc, are helping to score important victories in the campaign.
Every year since 2000, KCM spends hundreds of millions of Kwacha on its Roll Back Malaria programme. It incorporates an indoor residual spray campaign that covers some 40,000 households in four districts on the Copperbelt and Nampundwe, west of Lusaka.
Alongside this campaign, the company clears the drainage system in the targeted localities and distributes insecticide-treated mosquito nets. The results have been impressive. A drastic reduction of malaria by over 80 per cent in KCM's operational areas.
KCM's manager for medical services, Mada Banda said the malaria fight was a war that needed allies to be won because he was optimistic malaria can be cured.
He said in its severest form, the disease could have long-term effects on children.
"Many children who survive an episode of severe malaria may suffer from learning impairments or brain damage. Pregnant women and their unborn children are also particularly vulnerable to malaria."
Explaining KCM's corporate governance, Dr Banda said the 'Roll Back Malaria' project was multi-pronged. "It involves the provision of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and the prevention of malaria in pregnant women through measures such as Intermittent Preventive Treatment and the results, in these respects, have been improved maternal health and infant health," he said.
Although the costsinvolved are high (US$250,000 last year from US$1 million in the inaugural year), the benefits to the company and the communities it was serving where incalculably higher.
"The advantage of fighting malaria with such protective methods is that as individuals we can reduce hospital costs, increase productivity at both places of work and at school and the Government can retain more money in its coffers," he said.
For the malaria fight to be won, Dr Banda called on the local authorities in Chingola, Kitwe, Chililabombwe and Nampundwe to supplement KCM's efforts.
"The town clerks should know their job and one such job is maintaining good health in the municipality. From the time KCM initiated the IRS programme, there has been no commitment from the councils and they only watch us from a distance as spectators.
"In any game you can't score and win if you are a spectator. The best is to warm up and join the playing team which is KCM," he said.
Dr Banda said KCM was doing its bit to support the councils by the relevant levies. By his calculations, it required less than K20,000 to protect one household per year.
"If the councils were committed to this cause they should have found a way on how to levy this money from the residents instead of waiting for others to perform their duties.
"This money we are talking about is less than the money needed to buy a mosquito net which only protects a few sleeping in it. He said it was disappointing that each time the company invited town clerks to meetings designed to strategise for the continuing fight against malaria, they tended to delegate to the junior officers who could not make decisions," he said.
Dr Banda said malaria had direct impact on absenteeism both at school and work place, low productivity, high medical costs and loss of skilled manpower.
Copperbelt environmental specialist Patrick Mubiana supports Dr Banda's observations, saying local authorities were giving a lip service to the fight against malaria.
He said the council's Public Health Act empowered councils to take a lead role in such programmes as the fight against malaria and wondered why civic leaders failed to take up the challenge when the corporate world was keen to help them.
"It is regrettable that the town clerks and the district commissioners have not taken an active role in the malaria fight. Sometimes we understand that politicians do not use health as an issue to campaign to gain popularity because health does not have immediate benefits but the town clerks and DCs are not politicians.
"Even politicians should know that long term health benefits are the ones that will help this country meet the Millennium Development Goals," he said.
And KCM malaria control manager Paul Banda said malaria was the major cause for
high mortality and morbidity rates in the Zambia, and a major factor in low birth weight and poor maternal health.
Mr Banda said when the IRS programme was introduced the malaria rate was at 158 per 2,000 people in the year 2000 as compared to last year when the ratio had dropped to one in 2,000 people.
KCM introduced garden and house competition to enhance surrounding cleanliness.
"The purpose of the competition is not to have the house with the best landscaping. It is about what individuals or household levels can do to live in surroundings that are clean, safe and unfriendly to mosquito breeding and other communicable diseases.
"We realised that we could not have excelled if the dambos were not cleared promptly. I'm pleased to report that thisvigorous campaign has resulted in a reduction in the incidences of malaria by 83 per cent and zero mortality in the five years in KCM health facilities," he said.
The reduction in sickness and absenteeism had impacted positively on production. Despite malaria being a fatal illness especially in pregnant and under five children, the fight against malaria can be won and malaria can be cured.
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