Global Cause
In this issue
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The Global Fund: Malaria elimination efforts in Africa
The fight against malaria in Senegal The growing corps of community health workers in Senegal have transformed health care delivery by providing lifesaving treatment in hard-to-reach rural areas where health facilities are either under-resourced or non-existent. As caregivers and educators, community health workers have significantly increased early malaria referral rates, eliminating potentially deadly delays. Senegal’s...
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Defeating malaria in Asia Pacific takes political will
In little more than a decade, an Asian child in a remote, rural community will fall ill with fever following a mosquito bite. After accurate diagnosis, she will be given effective treatment and make a full recovery. A local community health worker will determine there are no other cases. It will be the last case...
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The challenge of cross-border malaria transmission
As countries across the world intensify efforts to stop the spread of malaria, collaboration across national borders has never been more important. In 2009, eight countries in southern Africa (Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) committed to work together on a set of regional strategies that will complement the individual efforts...
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How to tackle malaria — from the people who know best
Increased domestic funding, better surveillance and a focus on operational research are among the solutions outlined in a new study about fighting malaria in African countries. Dr Richard Kamwi is optimistic that a malaria-free Africa is a real possibility. “I remember the situation in Namibia, my own country, in 1990,” he says. “Out of a...
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What happens when HIV/AIDS and Malaria combine?
When malaria and HIV/AIDS combine, both diseases get even more serious. And the worst hit are the most vulnerable – pregnant women and their newborns. Individually, malaria and HIV/AIDS are two of the world’s biggest killers, according to the World Health Organization, so in regions where they are both endemic the interaction between them has...
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Why mosquitos are becoming harder to beat
The fight to eradicate malaria may have saved the lives of three million children since the turn of the century but progress is stalled because mosquitos are becoming resistant to pesticides. According to the World Malaria Report, all the major malaria-carrying Anopheles mosquito species have developed resistance to all four existing types of insecticide, and...
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British volunteer opens up about her malaria experience
“It’s hard to put into words the severity of my condition when I suffered from malaria in 2012: I spent almost three weeks unconscious in hospital, had four blood transfusions and because it had reached my brain, my chances of survival got slimmer as my liver and kidneys began to shut down.” “I had returned...
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Insecticide resistance threatens the fight against malaria
Advancements in the fight against malaria could be lost if we fail to tackle insecticide resistance in vector control. Great gains have been made in the fight against malaria and wide spread vector control initiatives have played a major role. However, insecticide resistance threatens to reverse these fragile gains. At present there are three main...
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Vulnerable people in conflict zones should be the priority
The Mentor Initiative has a very different approach to malaria. Instead of concentrating on what it sees as ‘quick-win’ areas, it aims to help the hardest to reach and the most vulnerable caught up in civil strife. Aiming to eradicate malaria is a noble aim but it will be impossible if there is not a...
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How long should I take antimalarials for?
This can vary. With some anti-malarials, you have to take them from two to three weeks before travel, throughout your stay and then for up to four weeks after your return, says the National Pharmacy Association. It is very important that you complete the prescribed course on return from your travels. If you are unsure...