Group advises on malaria
prevention and control
Accra, Dec. 4, GNA - The first meeting of the
World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office
for Africa (AFRO) Advisory Committee on Malaria
has ended in Brazzaville, Congo, with the
adoption of recommendations aimed at scaling up
the implementation of malaria prevention and
control interventions in the region.
A statement issued by the WHO in Accra on Monday
said the group recommended that indoor residual
spraying (IRS) should be seen as an additional
intervention and not as a substitute for
existing ones.
Indoor residual spraying is the application of
long-lasting insecticides on the walls and roofs
of homes and domestic animal shelters in order
to kill malaria-carrying mosquitoes that land on
these surfaces.
The statement said the experts endorsed the
strategy of intermittent preventive treatment
for pregnant women, stressed the urgency of
finding alternatives to
Sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) and called for
more emphasis on implementation through improved
collaboration among decision makers, health
workers and scientists from both the
reproductive health and malaria control sectors.
On Intermittent Preventive Treatment of infants,
the expert committee said that given the high
levels of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine resistance
emerging in some countries, more data on safety,
efficacy and effectiveness of alternative drugs
was urgently needed.
It said only effective drugs should be used and
their benefits must outweigh risks.
The statement added that the selection of which
combinations of malaria interventions should be
used must involve some prioritization, given the
limited overall health expenditures possible in
many countries.
Turning to malaria treatment, the expert group
recommended that the establishment of home-based
management of malaria with Artemisinin-based
combination therapies (ACTs) be targeted at
areas with low access to health facilities.
Members of the group agreed that WHO should
"actively discourage efforts by pharmaceutical
companies to impose policy change on countries
through large donations of drugs not currently
selected for first line treatment."
They said such a practice, apart from
undermining the process of evidence-based policy
making, risked huge wastage of ACTs currently
being procured.
Other recommendations related to the
strengthening of quality assurance systems,
rationalization of procurement of rapid
diagnostic tests, curbing of fake and
counterfeit drugs in the private sector, use of
routine health information systems, the
undertaking of high quality Malaria Indicator
Surveys and the prioritization of national
capacity building, including strengthening the
capacity of districts to analyze data.
The group said that Africa should "push for
adequate representation on trials undertaken in
Africa as well as the testing of drugs in
different epidemiological settings, and be more
actively involved in discussions on global
subsidy of ACTs with a view to ensuring
sustainable supply of life-saving drugs for
those in need.
The AFRO Advisory Committee on Malaria,
established by the WHO Regional Director for
Africa in April 2006, is made up of 11 experts
with extensive knowledge and experience in
malaria control. Its principal brief is to
advise and make recommendations on issues
pertaining to malaria control in the region.
GNA
