Malaria has for a long time been the number one killer disease in Tanzania, as in most tropical countries.

Treatment costs of the disease are very high, especially considering that most people living in these countries hardly spend one dollar daily. It is therefore heartening to hear that the cost of the first line malaria drug in the country (Alu) will be lowered to Sh400 per dose.

The minister for Health and Social Welfare, Professor David Mwakyusa, says the decision was reached in order to allow players in the private sector to import the drug.

For, according to researchers, nearly a million people die from malaria worldwide each year because they cannot afford the most effective treatment. As a result they often resort to buying old drugs to which the malaria parasite has become resistant.

A study of six high-risk nations by Population Services International Malaria shows that Artemisinin combination therapy or ACT drugs made by firms, such as Novartis and Sanofi-Aventis, can cost as much as 65 times the daily minimum wage in some African countries.

ACTs can cost up to $11 (Sh15,000) to patients buying over the counter, while older to less effective drugs cost just 30 US cents (Sh500).

This explains why malaria is still a major killer in developing countries, including Tanzania, despite the proven efficacy of ACTs in treating it.

In Tanzania, prices of ACTs dispensed at public dispensaries and hospitals are subsidised by up to 90 per cent, but the drugs are sometimes not readily available there due to various reasons.

Therefore patients are left to choose between facing the consequences of the disease and buying the drugs from private pharmacies for anything between Sh10,000 and Sh15,000 per dose.

According to official estimates, half of Tanzania's population lives on less than a dollar (Sh1,300) a day, and it's easy to see why malaria is still a major problem.

The irony here is that the most effective malaria treatment was still out of reach of most Tanzanians. We hope that the reduced cost of malaria drugs will be a major relief to them.