Urgent action, solidarity needed in fight against malaria in Asia-Pacific

Bali, June 17 (IANS) Countries of the Asia-Pacific region called for urgent action and solidarity in the fight against malaria during the two-day 9th Asia-Pacific Leaders’ Summit on Malaria Elimination, held in Indonesia’s Bali.

“Time is the most precious commodity we have. And in this time of extraordinary conflict, contraction, and chaos across the global health landscape, what we need most is cooperation and commitment,” Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance CEO Sarthak Das said on Tuesday.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recorded more than 260 million global malaria cases, with over 600,000 deaths, three-quarters of them children under the age of five.

A technical session with international experts was held on the first day, discussing the latest evidence, innovations, and malaria control and elimination strategies, while emphasising the importance of solidarity across borders, sectors, and communities.

The Global Fund’s Executive Director, Peter Sands, highlighted the progress made in tackling malaria, in line with growing global capabilities in technological and medical innovation.

He also underscored the importance of this summit at a time when countries and regions are facing immense challenges in the fight against malaria, not only climate change, conflict, and economic pressures, but also a significant decline in external funding, Xinhua news agency reported.

“We are at a moment of reckoning, where we could either continue the superb progress we’ve seen over the last decade or two, or we could find ourselves going backwards,” he added.

Involving around 250 participants from 23 countries and regions and international organisations, the annual meeting, held under the theme “Unity in Action, Towards Zero Malaria,” also brought together several Health Ministers, including those from Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu, Laos, Pakistan, and Indonesia.

According to the WHO, malaria is a life-threatening disease spread to humans by some types of mosquitoes. It is mostly found in tropical countries. It is preventable and curable.

The infection is caused by a parasite and does not spread from person to person.

Symptoms can be mild or life-threatening. Mild symptoms are fever, chills and headache. Severe symptoms include fatigue, confusion, seizures, and difficulty breathing.

Infants, children under 5 years, pregnant women and girls, travellers, and people with HIV or AIDS are at higher risk of severe infection.

Malaria can be prevented by avoiding mosquito bites and with medicines. Treatments can stop mild cases from getting worse.

Malaria mostly spreads to people through the bites of some infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Blood transfusion and contaminated needles may also transmit malaria. The first symptoms may be mild, similar to many febrile illnesses, and difficult to recognise as malaria. Left untreated, P. falciparum malaria can progress to severe illness and death within 24 hours.

–IANS

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