United Nations, April 15: Malaria, which causes an estimated one million deaths around the world every year can cease by 2015 if the international community provide bed nets to people living in malaria-endemic countries by the end of this year, according to UN specialist on Malaria, Ray Chambers.
“Once we reach that goal we must be ever diligent and vigilant after 2010. We have to keep replacing bed nets and we have to be aware of the malaria parasites developing resistance to the medication or the mosquito developing resistance to the insecticide on the net,” Chambers told the UN news agency.
“If we stay vigilant, if we accomplish our goal this year, we are predicting zero deaths from or near-zero deaths from malaria by 2015,” he added.
Malaria, both preventable and treatable, is the second biggest killer of children after diarrhoea. It is the leading killer of children in Africa, and the death cost to the continent is approximately USD 12 billion a year in lost productivity.
“It is unacceptable that children are still dying from preventable causes, like pneumonia, malaria, measles and malnutrition,” Ann Veneman, former UNICEF chief has said previously.
Last year, the cast members of the wildly popular American-sitcom Ugly Betty joined hands with UN to fight Malaria by supporting the ‘Nothing But Nets campaign’ to protect children from mosquitoes.
In India, the first season premiered in 2007.
‘Nothing But Nets campaign’ is a grassroot movement in US that asks people to donate only USD 10 for the purchase of an anti-malaria bed nets that can save millions of life.
Since the campaign was launched in 2006, thousands of Americans have contributed a total of 30 million dollars that have bought two million nets.
The UN has a goal to eliminate Malaria death by 2015. “This is really unprecedented in our lifetimes and it should
encourage us with regard to maternal health, child mortality, HIV/AIDS, TB [tuberculosis] and other diseases. I think malaria can stand up as an example of just what progress we can make by all working together,” Chambers said.
—–PTI