Mobilization of Medical Community and Policymakers To Combat Malaria in SE Asia.

Combating Malaria in South East Asia: Mobilizing the Medical Community and Policymakers

Southeast Asia is now combating the health menace of this century-malaria. On the occasion of World Malaria Day held on April 25, 2014, the WHO has been stressing on the need for mobilization of resources to combat this health menace. Stakeholders of civil society including the government and the corporate world need to collaborate together to generate more funds and invest more resources to tackle this menace.

Recent statistics indicate that the situation is very grim. Nearly 3 out of 4 people in Southeast Asian nations are at the risk of developing this disease. Southeast Asian nations are home to 1/4th of the total global population. This disease is life-threatening in the absence of adequate medical resources to tackle it in many countries in the Southeast Asian region. Though there has been a fall in the number of confirmed malaria cases from 2.9 million in 2002 to around 2 million in the year 2012, much needs to be done before this region can be rid of this disease.

According to the regional director for Southeast Asia (WHO) Ms. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, this Asian region has nearly 1.4 billion people who are currently at high risk for developing this disease. The worst hit is the poor section of society. This includes workers who are employed in upland subsistence farming or development projects such as mining or dam construction. Unprotected from the risk of malaria, poor labourers toiling in hilly or forested areas are likely to fall prey to malaria.

What is critically required at this juncture, according to WHO is the surveillance on malaria. Funds need to be garnered for developing effective diagnosis and treatment of this disease. Investment also needs to be made to formulate affordable drugs for combating the menace and developing insecticide treated mosquito nets. Research also needs to be carried out for garnering information on development of drug resistance in patients. Another possible area of research could be why mosquitoes develop resistance to insecticide. Communities residing in Southeast Asian countries need to be empowered to combat this disease.

Global efforts are being made to control malaria and eliminate this disease. So far, 3.3 million people have been protected from the life threatening effects of this disease, according to WHO. Malaria mortality rates have diminished by 42% in the period between 2000 and 2012. The incidence of malaria also fell by 25% globally. Region specific concerns however, are yet to be eliminated.

WHO cautions that there are many vulnerable sections of society in Southeast Asian region facing the threat of this disease and a lot needs to be accomplished in terms of malaria control. Moreover, gains in malaria control can be reversed due to development of parasite resistance to the medicine. Increase in the resistance of mosquitoes to insecticides is also a major obstacle in the elimination of this disease from the Southeast Asian nations.

In more negative news for health specialists and experts, there have been increased instances of transmission in places where the disease had been previously eliminated. Artemisinin resistance has developed in Southeast Asian nations such as Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. Artemisinin-based combination treatment (ACT) is the first step for combating lethal forms of malaria. The resistance of the life-threatening malaria parasite to this drug is a major deterrent in the effective elimination of this disease.

India is hoping to decrease malaria incidence by a significant percentage by the year 2015. Sri Lanka has reported elimination of this disease since 2012. Maldives is a leader when it comes to elimination of malaria. This island nation has been malaria free since 1984. The efforts are on to drive this disease away from the Southeast Asian nations. Strong political can help matters more than prayers. Tangible action will yield positive results. After all, God helps those who help themselves. When it comes to malaria, a lot can be achieved if the governments as well as the scientific communities work together to find effective remedies and solutions that can have a lasting impact.