Det er skam ikke kun i Afrika, malaria-myggen plager, selv oppe i Himalaya hærger myggen og den sygdom, den påfører tusinder af nepalesere hvert år, men nu vil regeringen for alvor gøre noget ved det.
KATHMANDU, 10 May 2012 (IRIN): The Nepalese government has launched an ambitious plan to curb the spread of malaria in high-risk parts of the country, where some 3.000 people were infected last year.
“This programme aims to end malaria in Nepal and bring about significant change in how we battle the disease,” Nepal’s Minister of Health and Population, Rajendra Mahato, told IRIN.
Nepal has run anti-malaria campaigns in the past, but Mahato said the latest effort was different, given the scope of the initiative and its goal of eradication.
“We are not just monitoring and reacting, we are acting before any outbreak happens,” he said.
The programme began on 1 May, and is the first nationwide push to end malaria. The central government aims to deliver anti-malarial drugs free of charge to some 500.000 people in 31 districts, including 13 southern Terai (lavlands) districts, the area most prone to (udsat for) the disease.
The health ministry will distribute the drugs at their local offices, and through their representatives in rural areas.
Nepal is still considered one of the most malaria-prone countries in Asia, even though the ministry is using a 1994 study, which showed that 20 million of the country’s 30 million people were at risk.
More than half of the country finds obtaining medical attention for malaria difficult due to poor infrastructure, and at times the government also has done little to prevent the disease from spreading.
Observers hope the new campaign is an indication that the country’s mindset and approach to health could be changing.
“We are working hard at reaching our goal of reducing the number of people that face malaria annually, by half this year,” said Prijita Kunat a ministry official working on the programme.
He added that the government will also focus on developing water and sanitation systems in the impoverished areas of Terai.
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Begynd fra: “One of the main supporters of the new programme….”
