Malaria mosquito |
NAIROBI, 25 Apr 2006 (IRIN) – A new malaria treatment, artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), is being introduced in Somalia to combat the disease, one of the leading causes of death among children and women in the Horn of Africa country, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
Marking Africa Malaria Day, Marjatta Tolvanen-Ojutangas, the head of the health and nutrition unit at UNCEF-Somalia, said: “The drugs are already there and we have made sure that rapid [malaria] testing kits are available to avoid cases of misdiagnosis. The new drug is more expensive so we can not afford misdiagnosis.”
The new therapy is initially being made available through UNICEF-supported maternal-and-child health clinics in southern, central and northern Somalia, according to Tolvanen-Ojutangas. The organisation supports 100 such health centres in the southcentral region and another 100 in the northwest and northeast, she said, adding that training of health workers on the use of the drugs had preceded the ACT rollout.
ACT is also being provided through therapeutic feeding centres, as severely malnourished children are particularly vulnerable to malaria.
Malaria kills an estimated one million children under the age of five in Africa annually, according to UNICEF. In central and southern Somalia, it is estimated to account for approximately 8 percent of all illnesses among children under five years of age. The burden is highest along the rivers and settlements with artificial water reservoirs, where there is all-year-round transmission.
“By introducing effective drugs for malaria treatment in Somalia, UNICEF and its partners will be addressing the challenge faced by children and women in combating malaria,” said Christian Balslev-Olesen, UNICEF’s representative for Somalia.
ACT is made up of two drugs – Artesunate and Sulfadoxine-Pyramethamine. The new treatment is also being introduced in many other African countries where malaria has become increasingly resistant to older drugs.
Malaria control efforts in Somalia are funded through the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. In 2004, the Global Fund gave Somalia a grant worth US $12.8 million to help in malaria prevention and control.
“About 4.6 million people, among them 966,000 children under five years of age and 230,000 pregnant women, are expected to benefit through the Global Fund initiative,” said Tanya Shewchuk, the Global Fund’s malaria programme officer for Somalia.
Malaria is caused by microscopic parasites that are transmitted from person to person by the female anopheles mosquito. The disease is widespread mainly in poorer tropical areas of Africa, Asia and Latin America. According to the UN World Health Organization, the disease threatens roughly 40 percent of the world’s population, and inflicts some 500 million clinical attacks each year. Most infections and deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Source: IRIN, April 25, 2006
