More effective drugs to treat malaria are set to be cheaper for Africans to buy at their local pharmacies, under an international partnership launched Friday at a meeting in Norway.
More effective drugs to treat malaria are set to be cheaper for Africans to buy at their local pharmacies, under an international partnership launched Friday at a meeting in Norway.
The Affordable Medicines Facility for Malaria aims to push down the cost of modern malaria drugs in order to drive older, ineffective medications off the market, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said.
Malaria - Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Prevention, Treatment
Malaria is caused by a parasite that enters blood through the bite of an infected mosquito. It is characterized by fever, vomiting, shivering, sweating and other symptoms.
Malaria is caused by a parasite that enters blood through the bite of an infected mosquito. It is characterized by fever, vomiting, shivering, sweating and other symptoms.
The facility will initially be offered to 10 nations in Africa -- Benin, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda -- as well as Cambodia.
Sharing the initial cost of 225 million dollars (172 million euros) over two years will be Britain and UNITAID, an international drug-buying facility created by France and supported by 27 other nations.
About Mosquito Diseases
Mosquito-borne diseases, like malaria, filaria, dengue, etc are common in places conducive of mosquito breeding. Swamps, ponds and stagnated drainage provide optimal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Mosquito-borne diseases, like malaria, filaria, dengue, etc are common in places conducive of mosquito breeding. Swamps, ponds and stagnated drainage provide optimal breeding ground for mosquitoes.
Spread by mosquitos in tropical regions, and most notably in poorer developing countries, malaria strikes about 250 million people a year -- one million of whom die, 90 percent of them children.
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But because they are up to 40 times more expensive over the counter, many malaria sufferers opt for cheaper, older medicines that the malaria parasite has, over time, grown resistant to.
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Counterfeit Anti-malarial Drugs Risking Millions of Lives in Africa
More than one third of antimalarial drugs sold in Africa have been deemed ineffective by scientists, who claim that all these drugs did not fare too well in quality tests.
More than one third of antimalarial drugs sold in Africa have been deemed ineffective by scientists, who claim that all these drugs did not fare too well in quality tests.
"There is no reason any child should die of malaria anymore," said Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund.
"We have insecticide-impregnated bed nets to protect families from mosquitos and effective drugs to treat those who do fall ill. Now we only need to ensure that all who need these things get them."
Unitaid president Philippe Douste-Blazy called for an end to what he called the paradox of an African child dying every 30 seconds from malaria when effective medication exists to counter the illness.
Reversing the incidence of malaria and HIV-AIDS is among the Millenium Development Goals set out by the United Nations in 2000 which notably aim to reduce extreme poverty by half by 2015.
Source-AFP
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