Banjul, The Gambia, 1st September 2015 - Every year World Malaria Day (WMD) is commemorated on 25th April and the Gambia joined the rest of the international community to mark this event. As part of preparations to mark WMD 2015, a taskforce was formed comprising of Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOH&SW), WHO,UNICEF, Catholic Relieve Services (CRS), ActionAid The Gambia, Nyama (CBO), Bill Clinton Foundation and other partners working in health.

This body was tasked to come up with all activities to mark this important event which was made possible after series of meetings and consultations. The event was preceded by radio programmes conducted on both national and community radios to sensitize the general public on the forth-coming WMD commemoration. Panelists were also identified within the committee for TV programmes.

The media houses from both print and electronic were also invited to a press conference on the 23rd of April prior to the commemoration day. The objective was to engage reporters and equip them with requisite skills to disseminate accurate malaria messages to the general public. In addition to the press conference, a scientific symposium on malaria research conducted in The Gambia by the NMCP and Medical Research Council (MRC) was also held on the same day. The main aim was to disseminate results of studies to the public and to report on progress made in Malaria Control within The Gambia.

Mr. Balla Kandeh, manager – National Malaria Control Programme welcomed partners and other invitees and commended the Association of Health Journalists (AOHJ) for their attendance. Representing all UN agencies, the WHO Representative, Dr. Sagoe-Moses noted that the  WMD was an important occasion to harmonize global, regional, national and country-level advocacy efforts to maintain progress in preventing, diagnosing and treating malaria.

He stressed that the theme for WMD 2015 “Invest in the future. Defeat malaria”, highlights the need for increased financial and human resources, commodities and infrastructural investments to control and eliminate this life-threatening disease. He informed the gathering that the theme reflects the ambitious goals and targets set out in a draft post-2015 strategy which will be presented to the World Health Assembly in May. He commended The Gambia for its considerable advances in Malaria control and adapting nearly all available malaria prevention and control interventions.

He reiterated WHO’s commitment to provide guidance on evidence-based strategies to better target malaria interventions and strengthen the existing health systems towards a malaria-free Gambia.

Presentations on partnership for results – the LLINs component was done by CRS whilst an update on The Gambia Malaria Control Strategy was presented by NMCP. An overview of Malaria research in the country was also featured by Professor Umberto (MRC) followed by a questions and answer session.

On 25th April 2015, World Malaria Day, MOH&SW, WHO (UN) and partners all gathered in Soma, Lower River Region (LRR) of the country to sensitize and educate the masses on the intensified campaign on the prevention, control and treatment of malaria.

The Deputy Permanent Secretary, deputizing for the Hon. Minister, Omar Sey (MOH&SW) highlighted the malaria burden particularly in Africa which he noted was unfortunately shouldered by Children and pregnant mothers and their unborn babies who were the most vulnerable. He highlighted malaria as a major cause of death stressing that 3000 people die of malaria every day amounting to one every 30 seconds. DPS Ceesay reiterated that the disease is not just a disease commonly associated with poverty but also a cause of poverty and a major hindrance to economic development.

He commended the Government of the Gambia and partners for the increase in access to malaria control interventions. He stressed that long term success will also depend on investment in on-going research and development to combat emerging threats such as parasite resistance. He concluded by saying that Gambia will continue to consolidate gains made in malaria control and prevention and work towards achieving the strategic goal of malaria elimination  by 2020.

Mr. Alpha Jallow, (CWS) on behalf of WHO and the UN System, hailed the seven-year strategic plan of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) which provides framework for the reduction of the malaria burden by 50% by 2015.However he said ‘we cannot afford to be complacent – we cannot afford to fail’, and there is a need to further scale up and intensify these interventions to achieve a near zero preventable malaria death in The Gambia.

He pointed out that while huge gains in the fight against malaria have been made in recent years, the disease still has a devastating impact on people’s health and livelihoods around the world, particularly in Africa, where it kills almost half a million children under 5 each year. He further pointed out that limited access to and underutilization of available malaria interventions within countries were the major causes of excessively high burdens of malaria cases and deaths.

He lamented that effective tools to prevent and treat malaria already exist, but more funds are urgently required to make them available to the people who need them and to combat emerging drug and insecticide resistance. Total funding will only match needs if international donors and partners and national governments prioritize further investments in malaria control

On his part, Mr. Balla Kandeh, Programme Manager NMCP, said the Roll Back Malaria initiative has built partnership to mobilize global support and resources to reduce the burden. He noted that this partnership has been, and remains strong, although he added; there is need and plenty of room for other sectors to join this partnership and help combat malaria. He thanked partners currently involved in malaria control activities for making the event possible.

Other speakers included the Regional Health Director who dilated on the reduction of malaria incidences and the Governor of LRR who expressed readiness to join in the fight against malaria. He then urged his people to report to the nearest health facility whenever they experience symptoms of malaria.

In attendance were high-level political leaders, community and religious leaders, women and gender groups, school children and security forces. Entertainment and malaria awareness drama were performed by cultural groups. Statements on WMD by the Minister, Hon. Omar Sey and Dr. Charles Sagoe-Moses were aired on both national TV and Radio on the eve of the event.

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For more information, please contact:

Contacts:

Mr. Momodou Gassama, Health Promotion Officer, gassamam [at] gm.afro.who.int (gassamam[at]gm[dot]afro[dot]who[dot]int)  - (+220)- 4462286;

Mr. George. Williams, Health Information Assistant,    williamsg [at] gm.afro.who.int (williamsg[at]gm[dot]afro[dot]who[dot]int) - (+220) 4462284