Not Just AIDS: Malaria Continues to Ravage Developing Nations

AIDS often steals headlines as the #1 global killer, but few are aware that malaria kills nearly as many people per year, children accounting for the majority of deaths. Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous island off the coast of Tanzania, proclaimed April 25 to be Africa Malaria Day, in effort to raise awareness and money to eradicate this debilitating disease.
Zanzibar officials assert that, with proper funding and governance, malaria can be eliminated from the African continent, where 90% of malaria cases are reported. Malaria, transmitted by infected mosquitoes, can be prevented with adequate protection, medication, and insecticide netting, which alone has cut child mortality by 63% in malaria.
Malaria continues to ravage rural Africa, where the majority of cases are reported. Rural villagers are more vulnerable to malaria-ridden mosquitoes due to the scarcity of adequate mosquito nets and poor governance, and often must rely on local NGOs and international institutions, like the World Health Organizations, to provide protection from malarial infection.
Several initiatives have been launched to curb the spread of the illness. On April 25, UNICEF moved to bring stronger drugs, such as artesunate and sulfadoxine, to Somalia, where malaria has proved resistant to other anti-malarial prescriptions. Jeffrey Sachs, the development economist, warns that malaria infection rates have actually increased, due to its resilience to new and innovative drugs, and contends that the provision of bed nets is the most effective method for substantially reducing malarial infections throughout the African continent.
“We expect to do residual spray to all homes in Zanzibar by next month and distribute more treated nets. But, this exercise needs money,” said Dr. Salhiya Musin, head of the Preventive Services at the Mnazi Moja Hospital Care and Treatment Centre.
The African Union began a 3-day summit on May 2 to encourage African leaders to undertake “bold, urgent, and extraordinary action” to curtail the staggering effect of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria, which has had deplorable effects on economic and social development. The AU hopes to achieve significant drops in infection by offering universal access to medication and services to all African citizens. The AU is also working to fortify its African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) as part of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) to battle the diseases which have claimed millions of Africans.
The Zanzibar demonstrations and the UNICEF initiative were overshadowed, however, by a condemning report issued by leading epidemiologists, which accuses the World Bank of withholding vital funds for the campaign against malaria. Scientists accuse World Bank officials of failing to deliver on a promise made in 2000 which would contribute between $300 and $500 million to better global health measures, more available medicine, and more deliverable services.
This criticism comes as the US Agency for International Development is forced to defend the alleged mismanagement of funds in its own Anti-Malaria program. While the US has increased its overall contribution to fighting epidemics in Africa to $15 billion, critics contend that 95% of these funds are spent on consultants, while a mere 5% of these funds are directed towards the distribution of medical supplies and other life-saving commodities.