Source: http://www.usaid.gov/
The U.S. Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), recently announced the expansion of its Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) program by providing technical and financial support to the Ministries of Health and National Malaria Control Programs in African countries to build country-level capacity for malaria prevention activities.
In IRS, safe insecticides are applied to the indoor walls and ceilings of a home or structure with the purpose of interrupting the spread of malaria by killing mosquitoes that carry the malaria parasite. Malaria is the number one killer in Africa.
This $189 million IRS contract comes under President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), led by USAID and implemented together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Under this initiative a three-year contract has been awarded to Abt. Associates that will cover the implementation of IRS activities in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, with the possibility of expansion based on malaria control needs and availability of resources.
The activities that will be undertaken under this program include assessing the environment to ensure safe and effective use of insecticides, evaluating mosquito abundance and susceptibility to the insecticides, educating residents about IRS and how they should prepare their house for spraying, training spray teams, procuring insecticide and equipment, and monitoring and evaluating spraying activities.
“Here in Washington, a mosquito bite is a fleeting nuisance. But in all too many places, that sudden sting and scratch can be a death sentence. In a world being bound ever closer together, those places do not seem so far away,” said Rear Adm. (RET) Tim Ziemer, U.S. Malaria Coordinator. Preventing and treating malaria saves lives, contributes to a reduction in all-cause under-five mortality, improves the health of children in malaria-burdened regions, and contributes to socioeconomic development in areas most affected by malaria.
The United States is engaged in building the capacity within host countries and focuses on training people to manage, deliver, and support the delivery of health services, which is critical for sustained successes against infectious diseases like malaria. PMI continues to introduce and expand four proven and highly effective interventions in each of the target countries. Scale-up of the four interventions is complemented by a strong focus on extending expanding access in rural and underserved communities and further expanding community engagement for malaria prevention and control.
In spite of the fact that the estimated number of global malaria deaths has fallen from about 985,000 in 2000 to about 781,000 in 2009 (according to WHO), malaria remains one of the major public health problems in sub-Saharan Africa, where malaria is the leading cause of death for children under five. Malaria being a global emergency affects mostly poor women and children, besides perpetuating a vicious cycle of poverty in the developing world. Cost of malaria-related illnesses and mortality to Africa’s economy alone amount to $12 billion per year.
