Roll Back Malaria

2454 Words5 Pages

Malaria is an important public health disease endemic in over a hundred countries globally. About 90% of malaria deaths occur in Africa with a child dying every forty five seconds. Malaria accounts for 16% of child deaths in the Africa (Remme, Binka & Nabarro 2001) and 7% of deaths in children worldwide (WHO 2010). It is a disease of poverty, causing significant constraint to the economic growth of susceptible nations (WHO 2010; Sachs, Malaney 2002). Globally, numerous malaria control programmes have been initiated to eliminate and eradicate the disease. In this context, eradication refers to a reduction in the global incidence of malaria to zero, such that its does not require any further control interventions. Elimination refers to a reduction in the incidence of malaria to a level that doesn’t constitute any significant public health burden, but still requires some form of control and surveillance (Heymann 2006). One limitation towards elimination and eradication of malaria is resistance. Resistance occurs when the efficacy of a control measure is reduced due to prolonged exposure of the malaria parasite and /or vector to sub-therapeutic doses of an intervention (Hemingway, Field & Vontas 2002).

The Roll Back Malaria (RBM) initiative was established in 1998 to strengthen health systems in malaria endemic countries and ensure that effective treatment and prevention tools are available and accessible. (Nabarro, Tayler 1998)

This paper will evaluate critically RBM’s use of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITN's) in Africa, examine the health promotion model underpinning its implementation and highlight the successes and failures associated with the programme.

Aims and Objectives of RBM:

RBM is a partnership of over ninety organ...

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...0: Africa Update.

WHO 2010, Malaria Fact Sheet [Homepage of World Health Organisation], [Online]. Available: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/ [2010, 05/29] .

WHO 1986, , The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion [Homepage of World Health Organisation], [Online]. Available: http://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/previous/ottawa/en/ [2010, 6/17/2010] .

WHO 2010, Global Malaria Programme Insecticide-treated mosquito nets: a position statement [Homepage of WOrld Health], [Online]. Available: http://www.who.int/malaria/publications/atoz/itnspospaperfinal/en/index.html [2010, 6/16/2010] .

WHO 2000, The Abuja Declaration and Plan of Action: an extract of the African summit on Roll Back Malaria [Homepage of World Health Organisation], [Online]. Available: http://www.rollbackmalaria.org/docs/abuja_declaration_final.htm [2010, 6/17/2010].

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