PHA-Exchange> PARTNERSHIP TO STOP MALARIA HAS MADE UNPRECEDENTED GAINS, UNICEF SAYS

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From: "Vern Weitzel" <vern.weitzel at undp.org>

> PARTNERSHIP TO STOP MALARIA HAS MADE UNPRECEDENTED GAINS, UNICEF SAYS
> New York, Apr 22 2005  5:00PM
> The Roll Back Malaria Partnership, grouping governments, businesses and
celebrities from around the
> world, has made unprecedented strides in reducing the spread of malaria in
Africa by promoting the
> manufacture on the continent of anti-malarial medicines and millions of
insecticide-treated bed
> nets, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said.
>
> Malaria kills nearly a million African children under 5 each year, more
than any other single
> infection, and those who survive may suffer from brain damage or
paralysis, yet the disease can be
> prevented by protection against mosquito bites and there is effective
treatment,
> <"http://www.unicef.org/media/media_26123.html">UNICEF said as it prepared
to mark Africa
> <"http://www.unicef.org/health/index_malaria.html">Malaria Day 2005 on
Monday.
>
> "In Tanzania, partnership enabled the introduction of new technology to
Africa for the local
> manufacture of the most advanced, long-lasting, insecticide-treated
mosquito nets. Production, which
> began in 2004, will hit 7 million nets by the end of 2005," it said.
>
> The campaign last December in Togo ensured that 98 per cent of households
with children under 5 now
> owned at least one treated net, with the overall percentage of households
covered rising to 62 per
> cent from just 6 per cent, it said.
>
> In some African countries, UNICEF said, local people have launched
agricultural projects, with the
> support of partners, to produce the raw materials needed to make the most
effective anti-malarial
> medicines available, the artemisinin-based combination therapies.
>
> "These projects could yield an estimated 35 million or more additional
doses of these medicines by
> the end of 2005," it said.
>
> In China, Europe and the United Sates, pharmaceutical companies have also
been increasing production
> of the medicines, it said.
>
> UNICEF said African Malaria Day would be observed around the world, but it
drew particular attention
> to celebrations scheduled to take place in Lusaka, Zambia, Brussels,
Belgium, and Washington, D.C.