Every day, 3,000 children die from malaria. This disease is Africa’s biggest killer, with over 1.5 million deaths per year, mostly children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa.
However, not everyone dies from malaria. At any given time, 300 million to 500 million people are infected with the disease, unable to attend school or sustain their families. Part of its tragedy is that it’s both preventable and treatable.
According to the World Health Organization, an average of $4 billion US per year over the next eight years is needed to significantly reduce the occurrence of malaria worldwide by 2015. The Global Fund, established to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, announced its largest contribution ever on September 27, with pledges totaling $9.7 billion US over the next three years.
“Canada stated that it would announce its contribution ‘within a few days’ [after the meeting in September],” says Beatrice Bernescut, communications agent with the Global Fund. One month has passed, and the Canadian government still hasn’t made its pledge for 2008-10.
“The Canadian International Development Agency’s (CIDA) funding has doubled in the last few years and the government has forecasted a surplus of $23 billion,” says Chris Dendys, national co-ordinator of RESULTS Canada, an advocacy group fighting poverty worldwide. “Yet, funding for malaria hasn’t increased. It’s inexplicable.”
Canada commits between $40 and $50 million annually to malaria interventions with most of these funds directed to bed nets, better known as mosquito nets. The see-through mesh nets are attached to the ceiling and drape over the sleeping area, protecting people from insect bites. “Bed nets are extremely effective and important but only represent one part of the equation,” says Dendys. “Consistent use of bed nets along with anti-malarial drugs and indoor spraying of insecticides could significantly reduce deaths and help us turn the tide on this major global killer.”
Left untreated, malaria greatly contributes to poverty, diminishing Africa’s potential economic output by $12 billion US a year. But the burden goes far beyond economic loss; the human pain and suffering is staggering. Children often experience one to five bouts of malaria fever per year. Many are left with permanent brain damage and are highly susceptible to other illnesses.
Four types of malaria parasites can be transmitted to humans by the female Anopheles mosquito when she pierces the skin to draw blood; the most common parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, is also the deadliest. Small infants can die within hours following a single mosquito bite. It usually takes seven to 12 days, however, for infected individuals to experience shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, fever, chills and nausea. Without treatment, malaria can lead to coma and death.
“I have watched so many children die from malaria — it’s awful,” says Dr. Jennifer Brenner, pediatrician with the Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary and director of the Healthy Child Uganda project. “I can remember nights when 15 children were brought to the clinic [in Uganda] and 10 of them had died by morning,” she says. “Those children could have been saved by bed nets or inexpensive medicines.”
Brenner started the Healthy Child Uganda project with a grant from CIDA in 2003. The project is a community-based partnership working with citizens in 174 remote villages in Uganda’s Mbarara and Bushyeni districts. “Malaria is our top priority,” she says.
“A third of the deaths in our regions are due to malaria, but we also have many children who get sick with malaria. That affects their ability to go to school and parents have to stay home to care for the child,” says Brenner. “Malaria affects productivity at all levels.”
Healthy Child Uganda recently partnered with Canadian organization Buy-A-Net to help distribute and, more importantly, educate locals about the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets. “We’re not simply giving nets away,” says Brenner. “Families must attend training sessions on how to recognize malaria and treat it, and how to use the net. Only then will they be able to take one home,” she says.
Families who earn their net must also participate in community activities such as cutting bushy areas and getting rid of standing water — all breeding areas for mosquitoes. Brenner says, “these actions along with the use of mosquito nets will make a huge difference.”
Although bed nets and vigilance will significantly reduce the risks of malaria, it will not eradicate the disease. “We don’t ask Canadians to give $10 [the average cost of a bed net] at a time to treat AIDS or immunize children. No. We ascribe decent funding for those problems, which includes foreign aid budgets and research budgets,” says Dr. Amir Attaran, Canada Research Chair in Law, Population Health and Global Development Policy at the University of Ottawa.
“CIDA’s approach to malaria has been at a very low level and at times scientifically incorrect,” says Attaran, who believes that the Canadian government should invest at least $100 million per year towards fighting malaria. CIDA officials were not available for comment despite numerous phone calls.
“Canadians need to take action and let the government know that funding for malaria is an urgent priority,” says Dendys. “We have the knowledge and resources to make a significant difference — what are we waiting for?”
