In April 2000 African heads of states committed themselves to halving Malaria mortality for Africa’s people by the year 2010.
This commitment became known as the Abuja Declaration and was made by all member states of the then Organisation of African Unity (OAU) at their meeting in Abuja, Nigeria.
At that time Malaria accounted for about one million deaths annually in Africa. Fifteen years after the declaration, Malaria is still prevalent in the continent especially in the southern tip.
This week, countries belonging to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) commemorate Malaria Week. The whole week is dedicated to raising awareness and promoting partnerships in the fight against the deadly but preventable disease.
According to the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) today 1.2 billion people across the globe live in high-risk areas where they are most likely to be infected by Malaria.
High risk areas include regions with heavy rainfall, humidity and high temperatures. These areas are usually densely populated with mosquitoes.
High risk areas in this country include Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.
Like HIV, Malaria can be passed on to the next person trough infected needles and blood transfusions.
In commemorating this week, the SANBS has committed itself to educating the public while safeguarding the blood supply from Malaria.
“Prevention methods are reducing Malaria globally, but Africa is still the continent where the most deaths from Malaria occur.
“Therefore there is an opportunity to improve education and awareness about the epidemic and find better ways to curb the spread,” said SANBS’s Thapelo Mokoena.
Nets and insecticides are the most effective preventative methods as they limit the exposure to Malaria carrying mosquitoes.
Mokoena explains that non-immune pregnant women, people living with HIV and children with underdeveloped protective immunity are most vulnerable to Malaria.
SANBS has put comprehensive measures in place to ensure that blood collected from donors is free of Malaria.
“To avoid Malaria-infected blood passing through the system SANBS conducts comprehensive interviews to obtain information from donors and to encourage them to stay Malaria-free.
“The need for life-saving blood transfusions in South Africa leaves no room for compromise in the precautionary measures that SANBS implements to make sufficient quantities of safe blood available,” concludes Mokoena.
