Ecowas plans action against malaria scourge

The West African Health Organisation, a specialised agency of the ECOWAS Commission, is working on a strategic 2009 to 2013 plan to fight malaria in the sub-continent, the president of the Commission, Mohammed ibn Chambers said last week in Abuja.

The key objectives to combat the malaria scourge was adopted in 2008.

Mr. Chambers made the statement at the flag off of the ‘Stop The Mosquito Campaign' by the vector control of the Federal Ministry of Environment in collaboration with Resource Energy Limited.

He said the anti-malarial efforts form part of discussions at the July 24, 2009 assembly of health ministers of ECOWAS countries in Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire. The meeting agrees that countries in the zone are not likely to achieve Millennium Development Goals unless the fight against malaria is fought with seriousness.

They also accepted to undertake the following measures:

* Keeping malaria high on the world development agenda.

* Develop a harmonised operational plan within ECOWAS to scale up efforts during the remaining days until December 31,2010.

* Support local production of malaria drugs and products to fight malaria and sustain advocacy efforts to achieve 15 percent allocation to health in national budgets.

Mr. Chambas said the launch of a ‘stop the mosquito campaign in Nigeria' was in line with the commitment of the ECOWAS Ministers of Health to use all resources to reduce malaria cases and deaths and, in the long run, eradicate the disease.

Barriers to MDGs

The Nigerian minister of Environment, John Odey said the consequences of mosquito constitute major barrier to meeting the 2015 target set by the United Nations for countries to achieve the MDGs on human health, particularly on maternal and infant mortality.

Mr. Odey said the global search for alternative to DTT in malaria control was one reason why Nigeria ratified Multilateral Environmental Agreements.

He said malaria control in Nigeria is, mainly, through the use of DTT which has been designated a persistent environmental pollutant in the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, and a hazardous chemical in the Rotterdam Convention.

The Rotterdam treaty, he said, specifically calls on the international community to mobilise resources to support effective malaria control programmes while reducing reliance on DTT.