Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, malaria remains the cause of death of approximately nine percent of all fatalities each year, and eighteen percent of all child deaths. Where disease in this region is concerned, malaria’s only rival is AIDS. In this extremely poor part of the world, poverty, a lack of health resources, and new drug resistances have made malaria prevention in sub Saharan Africa difficult.
Despite those difficulties, the battle against this killer disease continues unabated. Buttressed by international aid, the governments of this region have worked in concert with non-governmental entities in an attempt to expand their efforts at ridding the region of this disease.
Unfortunately, this effort is made all the more difficult by a confluence of unique characteristics in this part of Africa. The tropical weather, combined with lush foliage, and an abundance of water have made the region an attractive breeding ground for the mosquitoes that carry and transmit this deadly disease.
Fortunately, there are cost-effective prevention solutions that can be used to limit the disease. These include insecticide-treated bed nets, preventive therapy drugs, and indoor spraying. Of the three, the bed nets have proven to be the most cost-effective of these measures. Unfortunately, those battling the disease have yet to fully cover the region with these devices.
Part of that failure stems from the endemic poverty found in most afflicted countries. While the nets have proven effective where they are extensively used, most families cannot afford the cost of purchasing them. In some areas, more than nine out of every ten children lack this basic form of protection.
Obviously, additional foreign aid and renewed governmental efforts need to be made if further progress for malaria prevention in sub Saharan Africa is to be achieved. A number of governments have now redirected their attention toward providing free nets to their populations. With time, additional money, and redoubled efforts, the goal of universal prevention may yet be attained.