The head of the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Tuesday hailed “spectacular” progress against malaria, as the number of bed nets to protect against mosquitoes available rose by 155 percent.
Some 46 million families at risk have received the nets so far this year, up from 18 million families in 2006, Global Fund Executive Director Michel Kazatchkine said.
The Global Fund also provided the financing for effective drugs to treat approximately 44 million people suffering from malaria over the course of the year.
He cited a recent study in Zanzibar which showed that insecticide-treated bed nets and effective medicinal treatment can cut malaria transmission in high coverage areas by as much as 90 percent.
Kazatchkine said that malaria mortality rates for children under the age of five had dropped by more than 50 percent in areas of Tanzania and Eritrea in the last five years. …
The Fund was working to ensure that all African families are protected with bed nets and that countries attain “universal coverage” or at least a 60 percent coverage rate after which child mortality diminishes significantly, Kazatchkine said.
– Our challenge is to make bed nets available for everyone at risk of malaria, especially children and pregnant women, added he.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
