For malaria, a disease of poor countries, funded and researched by rich nations, where is the money? Where is the human resources and researches to end it in Africa?
Malaria, a disease that infected 214 million people across the world, leading to about 430, 000 deaths will wreck more havoc on Africa unless the continent takes a collective approach on investments in health more seriously.
Founder of Health FM and Chief Executive Officer at Medway Health, Doctor Omotuyi Mebawondu, said this during the Platforms Africa e-Discourse.
The Platforms Africa e-Discourse is a weekly event organised by Platforms Africa, a forum of intellectuals, policy moulders and opinion leaders across the continent led by Award-winning African journalist, Adeola Yusuf.
Africa, which Mebawondu, a foundation member of Platforms Africa, said, lacks the resources to tackle the menace of Malaria, has also not shown enough commitment, like the one it showed for COVID-19, for the fight against Malaria.
Africa, according to him, carries a disproportionately high burden of malaria cases. In 2015, 214 million people across the world were infected with malaria leading to about 430, 000 deaths.
“Of these, 90% occurred in Africa. And two countries on the continent, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, accounted for more than 35% of global malaria deaths.
“There has been some improvement. Between 2010 and 2015 there was a 21% reduction of malaria cases reported on the continent, and a 31% reduction in number of deaths.
“But Africa needs to urgently put a number of additional measures in place to speed up these advances, and to move towards eliminating the disease,” he said.
The health expert continued; “To achieve low transmission rates and eventual elimination of malaria, African countries need to invest in its wellness, Mebawondu said.
“We should have eliminated malaria long time ago, but this is a disease of poor countries, funded and researched by rich countries.
“The big pharmas have little interest in our tropical, poor people diseases.
“Africa should rise up to drive their Africa Continent Wellness.
“For malaria, where is the money? Where is the human resources and researches to end it in Africa? ”
Speaking further, he said the government needs to make cities liveable and have control over human health and environment.
In his words, “We need to improve our Planetary Wellness through clean air, water, and food availability.
We need more actions on indicators like population growth, multidimensional poverty, energy and water use, biodiversity loss. We should make economic policy synchronous with environment and planetary Wellness.
The GDP of the future ought to be your percentage of clean air, carbon emissions, water pollution, biodiversity, sustainable cities. Money as measure of GDP is a fraud that will hurt the world,”he added.
