As the world celebrated the Malaria Day on April 25th, some 75 percent of people in Afghanistan were believed to be residing in areas prone to the disease.
The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) organized a gathering in Kabul to mark the day.
Addressing on the occasion, Dr. Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative, said that the fight against Malaria have achieved many milestones during in the past decade. He added that in the last one decade the Malaria related mortality rate has globally declined by almost 50 percent.
The WHO Representative noted that more than 4 million lives, mainly in Asia and Africa were saved due to vaccines. The world is on track to gain the Malaria related Millennium Development Goals (MDG), he noted.
He however, warned that Afghanistan remained one of the high-risked countries. “Despite the gains, the disease still has devastating impacts on people’s livelihood and health in Asia and Africa including Afghanistan”, he said.
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, fatigue, vomiting and headaches. In severe cases it can cause yellow skin, seizures, coma or death.
Prevention of malaria may be more cost-effective than treatment of the disease in the long run,
Ahmad Jaan Naeem, representing the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) said on the occasion that an overwhelming 85 percent Malaria cases were registered in the eastern Laghman, Nangarhar and Kunar provinces.
ENDS
