April 25th is World Malaria Day. Even though eradicated in the West, malaria is still responsible for many deaths in the poorest countries, especially in Africa. Doctors with Africa Cuamm is hence making constant and tireless efforts to prevent and treat the disease in its countries of intervention. More than 530.000 new infections were diagnosed and treat by Cuamm health workers in 2021, among those 311.402 were children under 5 years; 1.362 deaths were registered in the health facilities where Cuamm operates.
According to data published by WHO-World Health Organization, malaria burden remains heavy: in 2020, 241 million of new infections and 627.000 deaths were reported worldwide. 95% of total cases and 96% of deaths occurred in Africa. Covid-19 played a crucial role on malaria burden. The pandemia caused the disruption of prevention and treatment services that led to one more “side effect”: the rise of malaria infections. In Africa, the infection rate grew from 213 million in 2019 to 228 in 2020, while death toll rose from 534.000 to 602.000.
Malaria is an endemic disease in Uganda. This country has the highest burden of infection cases among eastern and southern Africa countries (23,7%) and the 8th highest level of deaths. Although in the past few years many efforts have been made, 95% of the population in Uganda is at risk and some districts, as those of Oyam and Kole, in Lango sub-region, show an incidence rate higher than the national average: 405 cases per 1.000 inhabitants in Oyam and 346 in Kole. (National average of 316/1000).
Keeping these data in mind, on World Malaria Day Doctors with Africa Cuamm has decided to launch a week of activities in 4 districts of Lango and Karamoja (Oyam, Otuke, Moroto and Nabilatuk), Uganda. Distribution of mosquito nets, advocacy, training for activists, screening for malnutrition, blood donations, pre-natal care and Covid-19 vaccination were the results of a joint effort alongside with local authorities to promote and provide integrated health services.
The project “Erase. Supporting prevention, diagnosis and treatment of malaria during Covid-19 pandemic” is now in full swing. It is a two-years project supported by AICS (Italian Agency for Development Cooperation) and Global Fund that aims at improving prevention and treatment of malaria through target oriented interventions. Among the goals: training 3.000 families on how to use mosquito nets and how to make their houses safer; advocacy in 10 schools, meeting up with 1.200 community leaders; training 60 health workers and hundreds of local supervisors disseminated in villages; testing around 10.000 people in the most vulnerable areas.
«Although malaria is preventable and treatable, only the 88% of malaria cases among children under 5 years is being treated properly- Says Giovanni Dall’Oglio, Cuamm doctor and head of the intervention. Adherence to prevention is low, generally speaking malaria cases are underestimated and professional health workers trained for the prevention and treatment of the disease are insufficient. Moreover, the access to drugs remains a issue as well as the difficulties we face every day in organizing, managing and supervising services. For this reason, Doctors with Africa Cuamm decided to implement a specific project to tackle malaria: the problem must be addressed and we have to support the areas of the country where data are still alarming especially regarding women and children. The lives of many people are at risk».
