Movement Against MALARIA: Biting Back Against a Dreaded Disease
Lifestyle Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Mosquitoes aren’t popular; there is no getting around that. Whether you are off on a vacation with your family or friends in a remote island enjoying the beach or alone in an adventure like hiking or mountain climbing, you will always be warned about "mosquito bites"and how to ward off them off to prevent any alarming disease that comes with it, however - there's no specific time or date that these mosquitoes will attack and what disease they carry but more often than not, one of the contagious is MALARIA.
Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. These mosquitoes usually bite from around dusk to dawn. Once transferred to the human body, the infection travels to the liver where it multiplies and then enters the red blood cells.
Inside the red blood cells the parasites multiply rapidly until they burst, releasing even more parasites into the blood stream.
Symptoms usually appear 10-15 days after the infective mosquito bite, and start with fever, headache, and chills. However, symptoms may be mild and hence difficult to recognise as malaria, but early diagnosis and treatment is the best way to reduce the disease, its transmission, and prevent deaths.
Some got confused with Malaria and Dengue, here's an explanation and difference between the two.
(L-R) Dr. Raffy Deray, Malaria Coordinator DOH; Mr. Edgar Veron Cruz, Executive Director Pilipinas Shell Foundation Inc. and Ms. Marivi Trudeau, PSFI Program Manager
Back in the 90's, the Philippines used to be a hotbed of Malaria cases. Two decades in, the country is close to becoming Malaria-free. Health officials and health advocates, however'. believe that there is still much to accomplish to completely rid the country of this dreaded disease.
In the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel held last Monday, Department of Health (DOH) national Malaria coordinator Dr. Raffy Deray stressed that the country is definitely on its way to being Malaria-free, thanks to the efforts of some private-sector health advocates who have worked hand-in-hand with the government to curb the dreaded disease.
Dr. Deray revealed that the number of Malaria cases in the country has dropped significantly in recent years, thanks to government partners who have spearheaded anti-Malaria programs. "Contrary to popular belief, the Malaria situation in the country now than our neighboring countries in the ASEAN and eve in the Asian region," Dr. Deray stressed.
Probably the most successful anti-Malaria program initiated in the country is the program initiated by Pilipinas Shell Foundation Inc. (PSFI) in Palawan in 1999. Initially referred to as the Kilusan Ligtas Malaria (KLM), the program got off the ground with a Php36-million grant from Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. (SPEX) with the province of Palawan as its starting point. "When we saw that the biggest problem of Palawan was its Malaria situation, we in PSFI decided to address this issue and started KLM immediately," Edgar Veron Cruz, PSFI executive director, revealed.
Right from the start, PSFI's KLM had to contend with 78,000 Malaria cases in the province with an average of 100 deaths every year. The project's components were: early diagnosis and prompt treatment, vector control, social mobilization and advocacy, and an information drive and communications for behavioral change. By 2006, Malaria cases in Palawan had dropped to about 12,000, with 21 deaths. Impressed, the Swiss-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis & Malaria, decided to support the program, which was then renamed Movement Against Malaria or MAM. From then on, the number of Malaria cases continued to decline steadily, and what was just an initiative in Palawan, became a nationwide anti-Malaria program.
In fact, in 2011, largely because of the success in Palawan, the Philippines achieved the United Nations' Millennium Development Goal of halting and reversing Malaria, ahead of its 2015 deadline.
Cruz added that they are also working together with the DoH in setting up elimination hubs in 83 provinces which will be supplied with stockpile of medicines and manned with qualified workers.
"In almost 20 years of fighting Malaria, the PSFI has achieved something that no corporation or group in the country ever has," noted PSFI Program Manager Marvi Trudeau. "There are now only seven provinces that still have Malaria, including Palawan," she added. "The Pilipinas Shell Foundation will continue to work with the government in order to fight Malaria. Our timeline is to aim for total eradication by 2030," Trudeau declared.
Dr. Deray, in turn, stated that the DOH is aiming to reduce the instance of Malaria by 90% by 2022 and achieve zero-transmission by 2025. As of the first 11 months of 2018, there have been only 2 deaths from Malaria in the whole of the country. In a previous interview DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said, "The success story of Palawan because this is arguably our country's best in showcasing that public-private partnership work even against an age-old and impressive killer." Sec. Duque noted, "PSF1's KLM program did not only better the lives of the people of Palawan, KLM has grown into what is now the national Movement Against Malaria. The KLM experience tells us that victories can be made, effective leaders can be engaged, communities mobilized, and alliances formed to strengthen country efforts in achieving its Malaria targets."
Early diagnosis and treatment of malaria reduces disease and prevents deaths. It also contributes to reducing malaria transmission. With growing support from private sectors like Pilipinas Shell Foundation Inc. (PSFI), the fight against Malaria will surely be more successful as years pass by and the zero-transmission by 2025 will be achieved, people in remote areas will have a secure and comfortable life, free from any contagious disease.
