Daniel in The Lion's Den | 921: Mosquitoes and Malaria XI – Worldwide in Brief: Congo

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921: Mosquitoes and Malaria XI – Worldwide in Brief: Congo – DRC and Brazzaville / Ghana / Nigeria

26 October, 2009

Gleaned from various sources – quoted as and when

Dear readers and fellow-Apes. Below are the facts and figures of a few African countries; and they ought to give you a general idea of what is taking place on the continent – slightly more, but never less

Report in green (checked and edited) / highlights in red / extra highlights and comments in brown / dangerous in orange / highly dangerous in pink / good and true in blue / and my comments in black. Kindly note that whenever Orange and Pink indicate Horse-shit and Horse-fart respectively, you will be told…

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): malaria still biggest killer

IRIN-News April 2008

Malaria is the primary cause of sickness, mortality, and morbidity in the country as it is in all of Africa, despite the efforts made. The secondary cause is tuberculosis. According to data, 5,000,000 cases of malaria are registered every year throughout the country with a population of nearly 60 million, and between 500,000 and 1,000,000 people die of the disease every year.

Congo-News-Channel via IRIN-News 5^th October 2009

In the area of DRC's Province Orientale, malaria is endemic and nearly every child gets it.

Health experts estimate that each child under five in the DRC has 6 to 10 attacks of malaria per year. That is equivalent to as many as, or more than, 100 million episodes, annually. Approximately 180,000 Congolese children under five die from the disease every year and many others are orphaned when malaria weakens and kills their parents.

Workers loaded insecticide-treated bed-nets onto barges in Kinshasa, DRC. The nets would be transported up the Congo River for distribution to remote regions of the country. ITBNs are good and will protect people when they are asleep, but what about when they are awake? Let not anyone underestimate the female anopheles mosquito, or take her for a fool…

Congo Brazzaville: Fighting malaria in children‏. Climate changes accelerate vector-borne diseases

Climate changes are directly responsible for the geographic distribution of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and epidemics of meningococcal meningitis, tuberculosis, Rift-Valley fever, and cholera.

Msn-Encarta Dictionary

Meningococcal: bacterium that causes cerebrospinal meningitis; Latin Neisseria meningitides

Meningitis: a serious, oft-times fatal illness in which a viral or bacterial infection inflames the meninges, causing symptoms such as severe headaches, vomiting, stiff neck, and high fever

Meninges: the three membranes that surround and protect the brain and the spinal cord, called the dura-mater, the arachnoid-mater, and the pia-mater

Ghana

IRIN-News and other sources April 2009

Malaria is transmitted throughout all of Ghana and is responsible for more than 44% of out-patient visits and approximately 22% of deaths in children under five. It is one of 15 countries benefiting from the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), a five-year, $1.2 billion programme led by the US Agency for International Development – USAID – and implemented together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – CDC-P.

At a glance

US Census Bureau and International Data Base 2009: Population: 23.8 million (estimated) / Life expectancy: 59 (males) 61 (females) / WHO World Malaria Report 2008: Population risk: 100% (2006) / UNICEF State of the World’s Children 2009: Mortality rate (children under 5): 115/1,000 or approximately 1 out of 9

In support of Ghana’s National Malaria Control Programme NMCP, PMI backs four key intervention strategies to prevent and treat malaria: Insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) / Indoor residual spraying with insecticides / sporadic preventive treatment for pregnant women / diagnosis of malaria and treatment with artemisinin-based combination therapy

Nigeria

Millions of deaths attributable to malaria are recorded globally. The disease constitutes a huge epidemiologic burden in Africa and continues to cripple the economic development on the continent. The disease is responsible for 60% of out-patient visits to health facilities, 30% of childhood deaths, and 11% of maternal deaths. The annual financial loss due to malaria is estimated to be about 132 billion Naira in the form of treatment costs, prevention, loss of man-hours etc; yet, it is a treatable and completely evitable disease.

Roll Back Malaria RBM in Nigeria anchors on the global strategies for malaria control which are multi-pronged and of proven efficacy: Prompt and Effective Case Management / Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) and Environmental Management / Intermittent Preventive Treatment of malaria in pregnancy / Integrated Vector Management including Use of ITNs

Other cross-cutting interventions include Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilization, Effective Programme Management, Monitoring, Evaluation, Partnership and Collaboration

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