Namibia cuts malaria rates by more than 90 percent

WINDHOEK, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Namibia highlighted historic success in cutting malaria rates by more than 90 percent, according to a statement recently issued by the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) on the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018 in London.

Namibia's Director of Special Disease Program, Anne-Marie Nitschke told Xinhua on Monday that the country is committed to eliminating malaria across the country in the next few years and emphasized the importance of cross border collaboration and the regional elimination efforts of the E8 partners in supporting this ambition.

"Over the years we have championed in the battle against malaria with initiatives that include Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS), training and monitoring of spray teams, strengthening of electronic surveillance system as well as awareness campaign programs," she added.

In addition to the current government investment levels of 2 million U.S. dollars per year the health ministry is also aligning their national resource strategy to help meet future funding gaps.

Namibia was among the 12 African countries in the Commonwealth who announced new commitments to eliminate malaria.

Meanwhile the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) welcomed the commitment by 53 Commonwealth leaders to halve malaria across the Commonwealth within the next five years.

The 2017 World Malaria Report revealed that progress towards eliminating malaria globally and across the African continent was fragile and uneven. While several African countries including Madagascar, Senegal, the Gambia and Zimbabwe led the world in reducing malaria cases in 2016, nine out of the 10 countries which saw the greatest increase in cases were on the African continent. Enditem