Verdens malaria-dag har været markeret siden 2007, men Verdenssundheds-organisationen (WHO) råber vagt i gevær trods markante resultater de senere år i at bekæmpe den frygtede lidelse, der især hærger Afrika.
The theme for World Malaria Day 2012 on Wednesday (25.04.12) is “Sustain Gains, Save Lives: Invest in Malaria”, writes WHO in a press release Monday.
Whether the malaria map will keep shrinking, as it has in the past decade, or be reclaimed by the malaria parasites, depends, to a great extent, on the resources that will be invested in control efforts over the next years.
Investments in malaria control have created momentum and yielded remarkable returns in the past years.
In Africa, malaria deaths have been cut by one third within the last decade; outside of Africa, 35 out of the 53 countries, affected by malaria, have reduced cases by 50 per cent in the same time period.
In countries where access to malaria control interventions has improved most significantly, overall child mortality rates have fallen by approximately 20 per cent.
However, these gains are fragile and will be reversed unless malaria continues to be a priority for global, regional and national decision-makers and donors.
Despite the current severe economic climate, development aid needs to continue flowing to national malaria control programs to ensure widespread population access to life-saving and cost-effective interventions.
Long-term success will also depend on investments in on-going research and development to combat emerging threats such as parasite resistance.
Sustaining malaria control efforts is an investment in development, states the WHO.
Continued investment in malaria control now will propel malaria-endemic countries toward near-zero deaths by 2015 and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (2015 Målene), especially those relating to improving child survival and maternal health, eradicating extreme poverty and expanding access to education.
Se http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/malaria/en/index.html
og
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=41843&Cr=malaria&Cr1=
