Among the challenges facing developing nations in Africa, malaria is one of the deadliest. However, African leaders plan to finally stop the disease in its tracks.
On 23 September 2009, during the General Assembly meeting at the United Nations in New York, leaders from the continent, called the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), will meet with secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and discuss one of the boldest actions taken against malaria in the modern era.
According to Robert C. Orr, who serves as the UN assistant secretary-general for policy coordination and strategic planning, the announcement by the leaders will include two primary disease-reduction targets. First, the leaders intend to have disease-prevention functions completely under control in Africa by the end of 2010. Additionally, the leaders will announce the even bolder initiative of “near zero deaths by malaria by 2015.”
Orr, who spoke on matters regarding the upcoming General Assembly and issues surrounding it, explained that the ALMA and the secretary-general hope to make their ambitious targets reality through several initiatives. He told MediaGlobal that these programs would include “mobilising partnerships” with regional actors, and a broadened effort to implement “spraying and bed nets” and increased availability of therapies. The joint push by the UN and African leaders is an extension of the sixth Millennium Development Goal (MDG), which calls for eradication of malaria and deadly diseases.
Despite recent concerns over progress of the MDGs and their completion, Orr was confident that malaria could be neutralised in Africa, citing successful examples of UN activity in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Additionally, he lauded the progress being made in Zanzibar, which he identified as being “one of the worst” cases of malaria prevalence.
Article published courtesy of MediaGlobal
