Muslim Aid’s Action Call to Eradicate Malaria

Joining the global community in commemorating World Malaria Day on 25 April 2011, Muslim Aid called on the international community to take concrete steps toward the complete and effective eradication of malaria, including its causes with better hygiene and preventive measures and improving the living conditions of people most affected by this potentially fatal disease.
Noting the grim statistics issued by the World Health Organisation on malaria, a spokesperson for Muslim Aid said: "In an age of free flow of information and cutting edge technology, it is a great irony that every 45 seconds a child dies from malaria, while half a billion people in 106 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America are infected by malarial parasites. Surely more work is required to be done by governments and the health industry to eradicate this deadly disease from the world." "On this day, Muslim Aid urges the pharmaceutical industry to spend more resources on research and development into malaria and donate the latest generation of anti-malarial drugs as grants in kind to established health networks of NGOs such as Muslim Aid hospitals and clinics around the world to treat rural populations suffering from malaria in many countries." Muslim Aid is committed to reducing the threat of malaria in the countries it works in, especially for the most vulnerable groups of people, namely old persons, pregnant women and children. Malaria among pregnant women contributes to low birth weight and infant deaths and is the most common cause of spontaneous abortion in Africa. Muslim Aid’s health programmes include primary health clinics, mother and child centres and the treatment of patients suffering from malaria in Africa. In Somalia, Muslim Aid has established a malaria prevention and treatment project in south and central Somalia to reach those living in more remote regions. Women are encouraged to regularly attend antenatal clinics so that they can protect themselves and their babies from malaria. In 2011 over 7,000 mosquito nets were distributed to pregnant women and children under five. Educational programmes on the causes and prevention of malaria and waterborne parasitic disease have also been delivered to empower people to help themselves prevent and fight this fatal disease. -Ends –