By: Rancy S. Teewia
The Liberian advisor of infectious diseases at the World Health Organization (WHO) and panelists at the just ended West Africa Celebrate LAB Conference, Dr. Moses K. Jeuronlon has said Malaria will be eradicated by 2030 in West Africa through the support of WHO.
Dr. Jeuronlon spoke on the role of clinical diagnostic laboratory in addressing threats, including Malaria-the pandemic in West Africa and the collective expertise of Clinicians
He made the statement on Wednesday April 24, 2018, during the official close of the two days West Africa Celebrate LAB Five Years of Anniversary Conference held at the Monrovia City Hall in Monrovia.
Dr Jeuronlon also said WHO has designed a global strategy to eliminate malaria from 2016 to 2030, to reduce the global malaria burden by 90 percent as of 2030 and strengthen the health system for effective health delivery throughout West Africa, especially Liberia.
He said the plan will address the emerging multi-drug and insecticide resistance, intensify national, cross-border and regional efforts to scale up malaria responses in order to protect everyone at risk and further extend financial assistance and resources to affected countries as a means of empowerment to eliminate malaria as of 2030, thus making reference to tuberculosis that had been eradicated over the past years.
Meanwhile, Dr. Jeuronlon unveiled global statistics for 2017 and 2018 for global report on malaria cases from 10 countries out of which five covers West Africa.
They outlined 219 million cases and 435, 000 deaths globally; and 200 million cases in Africa which represent 91% of the global burden in the ten countries accounting for 76% of cases in the African region
He also said five of the reported death cases in total of 403,000 amounting to 93% of the global burden puts Liberia at 1.5 million cases out of which 35% are children while 758 deaths amounting to 73% are also children.
Dr. Jeuronlon further said causes of malaria are due to the climate changed and parasites of the plasmodium family which is contracted and transmitted by female anopheles mosquitoes.
Dr. Jeuronlon added that public health facilities are free and well sophisticated, and that the public should not think that there will be no quality treatment.
He said every drugs that is being administer to anyone is well tested before distribution and all citizens are encouraged to take advantage of the public health facilities than the drugs stores.
He then said malaria treatment is for three days, and that anyone who is given a three-day treatment should ensure completion of the treatment because the new malaria is very power to the extent that feeling better without completion of the three-day dose does not mean that the malaria has been completely threated, saying that curing malaria from the body is by taking the proper treatment as prescribe by physician.
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