By TEDDY KUYELA
Zambia says it will continue implementing measures aimed at reducing malaria prevalence in the country.
Minister of Health Kapembwa Simbao said Government is happy with the levels to which malaria cases have reduced in Zambia but that more needs to be done to prevent deaths.
Simbao (insert) said this yesterday on Radio Phoenix’s Face the Media programme.
He said Government is happy with the strides that the country has made in winning the battle against malaria and that it will continue putting in place interventions to ensure that Zambia becomes malaria-free.
“The current demographic health survey has revealed that we have drastically reduced malaria deaths by 66 percent. This is due to the number of interventions that the country has put in place.
“More people in the country have started using mosquito nets, especially the treated ones and the drugs that we are now using, such as coartem, have proved to be effective interventions towards reducing malaria cases,” he said.
Simbao said Government’s strategy of working with partners and communities has led to a positive response to reducing malaria.
He said Government has worked hard with its partners while communities have responded well to interventions aimed at reducing malaria cases.
Simbao commended the Malaria Control Centre for coming up with a policy of reducing malaria through free distribution of treated mosquito nets, with specific interest in expectant mothers and under-five children.
Simbao said Government will continue working tirelessly to fight malaria and expressed optimism that malaria will be eliminated.
He further observed that if people united, even cases of HIV/AIDS would reduce drastically.
“A new partnership between the government, international donors and the non-governmental organisations that make up Zambia’s roll-back malaria campaign aims to break the cycle, with an ambitious plan to reduce malaria deaths in Zambia by 75 percent over the next three years,” he said.
Simbao said Government is optimistic about Zambia’s chances of attaining its goal of reaching 80 percent of the population with malaria prevention and treatment measures.
He said the choice of Zambia as a country to test-drive malaria control arose from its commitment to reducing malaria deaths and its willingness to work with donors and other partners.
Simbao said technological advances, such as rapid diagnostic test kits and new malaria drugs, have also played a crucial role in tackling malaria in the country.
Courtesy of Zambia Daily Mail
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Zambia sets the pace for pan-African malaria drive
Lusaka – Zambia has been hailed in malaria control during a meeting of health experts drawn accross Africa,held (March 10-12)in the Ghanaian capital Accra.
The United Against Malaria (UAM) conference heard that Zambia as become a global leader in malaria control.
Pauline Wamulume,principal information officer of the National Malaria Control,however cautioned that the mineral rich southern African nation would not become complacent in its efforts.
“Now is not the time to back down but to keep the pressure on. By doing so we are confident that we will win the fight against malaria,” said Ms Wamulume, who outlined the National Malaria Control Centre’s plans to raise awareness surrounding World Malaria Day in April.
She joined professionals from eleven African countries, who met to discuss progress and strategy for the United Against Malaria campaign.
In Zambia, work is progressing on a television public service announcement, while corporate partner Manzi Valley is soon to publish the latest in a series of children’s colouring books, featuring the campaign.
There are events planned for World Malaria Day on April 25, and a number of other initiatives are in the pipeline.
United Against Malaria leverages the energy and passion of football to communicate important messages about the treatment and prevention of malaria, driving Zambia’s goal of reaching the 2010 target of universal access to treated bednets and malaria medicine, a crucial first step to reaching the international target of reducing deaths to near zero by 2015.
Among those backing the campaign are Zambia national soccer team players,international footballing legend David Beckham and some local companies.
United Against Malaria’s pioneering approach has drawn from football for its inspiration, believing that teamwork is the key to success.Zambia's health minister Kapembwa Simbao launched the campaign last year.
United Against Malaria is being launched in countries across Africa in the run-up to next year’s World Cup in South Africa. Global partners include the Gates Foundation with support from the United Nations Foundation, Roll Back Malaria Partnership, the One Campaign, Malaria No More, PATH, PSI, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Comic Relief.
Malaria is endemic in all nine provinces of Zambia, accounting for around a third of all hospital visits and having a major impact on families, the economy and the health system.
The government has made malaria prevention and control a national priority and has intensified its scale-up of interventions in recent years.
Over seven million insecticide-treated bednets (ITN), one of the best methods to prevent malaria, have been distributed nationwide. Indoor residual spraying (IRS) is now conducted in half of Zambia’s 72 districts.
Through these interventions, as well as nationwide access to testing and treatment, Zambia has recorded remarkable progress reducing the burden of malaria.
The United Against Malaria (UAM) conference heard that Zambia as become a global leader in malaria control.
Pauline Wamulume,principal information officer of the National Malaria Control,however cautioned that the mineral rich southern African nation would not become complacent in its efforts.
“Now is not the time to back down but to keep the pressure on. By doing so we are confident that we will win the fight against malaria,” said Ms Wamulume, who outlined the National Malaria Control Centre’s plans to raise awareness surrounding World Malaria Day in April.
She joined professionals from eleven African countries, who met to discuss progress and strategy for the United Against Malaria campaign.
In Zambia, work is progressing on a television public service announcement, while corporate partner Manzi Valley is soon to publish the latest in a series of children’s colouring books, featuring the campaign.
There are events planned for World Malaria Day on April 25, and a number of other initiatives are in the pipeline.
United Against Malaria leverages the energy and passion of football to communicate important messages about the treatment and prevention of malaria, driving Zambia’s goal of reaching the 2010 target of universal access to treated bednets and malaria medicine, a crucial first step to reaching the international target of reducing deaths to near zero by 2015.
Among those backing the campaign are Zambia national soccer team players,international footballing legend David Beckham and some local companies.
United Against Malaria’s pioneering approach has drawn from football for its inspiration, believing that teamwork is the key to success.Zambia's health minister Kapembwa Simbao launched the campaign last year.
United Against Malaria is being launched in countries across Africa in the run-up to next year’s World Cup in South Africa. Global partners include the Gates Foundation with support from the United Nations Foundation, Roll Back Malaria Partnership, the One Campaign, Malaria No More, PATH, PSI, John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Comic Relief.
Malaria is endemic in all nine provinces of Zambia, accounting for around a third of all hospital visits and having a major impact on families, the economy and the health system.
The government has made malaria prevention and control a national priority and has intensified its scale-up of interventions in recent years.
Over seven million insecticide-treated bednets (ITN), one of the best methods to prevent malaria, have been distributed nationwide. Indoor residual spraying (IRS) is now conducted in half of Zambia’s 72 districts.
Through these interventions, as well as nationwide access to testing and treatment, Zambia has recorded remarkable progress reducing the burden of malaria.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Application to CITES to down list elephants ready
By MARTIN NKOLOMBA
GOVERNMENT says it is ready to apply to the parties of the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species in Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to downlist the country’s elephant population from Appendix 1 to 2 to enable Zambia use benefits accruing from the sale of elephants for national development.
Minister of Tourism and Natural Resources Catherine Namugala said the country’s application to downlist its elephant population will have no negative impact on elephants.
She said her statement is supported by a comprehensive assessment of the proposal to downlist the elephant population.
“Zambia’s proposal to down list the elephant population is based on findings of a comprehensive assessment that showed that commercial trade would not be detrimental to the survival of the elephant,” Ms Namugala said.
She said this yesterday at a media breakfast in Lusaka at which she discussed the country’s readiness to apply for the downlisting as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is taking place in Qatar, United Arab Emirates.
Ms Namugala said the application is timely, as elephants are no longer threatened with extinction like they used to be during the early 1980s when their population was 27,000.
She said the sale of elephants and elephant products will benefit both Government and communities living alongside the animals.
Ms Namugala said if the country is allowed to start selling elephants and their products, the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) will be able to carry out its conservation functions more efficiently.
She said ZAWA needs about US$20 million annually to effectively function but that it only receives about US$12 million from Government.
Ms Namugala said Government cannot bridge the gap between the amounts owing to competing national developmental needs.
She said the sale of elephants will also improve the flow of economic resources in areas where elephants are killed.
Ms Namugala said ZAWA gives back 50 percent of all sales it makes from animals killed to respective communities.
She said such communities should expect a marked increase in financial allocations from the authority if Zambia is allowed to downlist the elephant population.
Ms Namugala said this would compensate communities that are adversely affected by human-elephant conflicts.
She said due to the increase in their population, elephants are causing damage to people’s crops and endangering their lives.
She said the proposal to downlist is aimed at facilitating trade in live elephants to acceptable destinations and trade in raw skins from controlled elephants.
She said the proposal will facilitate hunting trophies for non-commercial purposes.
Ms Namugala said apart from that, the proposal will facilitate the sale of 21.6 tonnes of stockpile of raw ivory currently in custody at ZAWA offices.
And Chieftainess Chiyawa supports the country’s proposal to downlist, reiterating that such a development would provide compensation for her subjects whose crops and property are destroyed by elephants.
Chieftainess Chiyawa said her people are experiencing food insecurity due to human-elephant conflicts.
She said the people are afraid to go fishing and to cultivate their fields because of the conflict.
GOVERNMENT says it is ready to apply to the parties of the Convention in International Trade in Endangered Species in Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to downlist the country’s elephant population from Appendix 1 to 2 to enable Zambia use benefits accruing from the sale of elephants for national development.
Minister of Tourism and Natural Resources Catherine Namugala said the country’s application to downlist its elephant population will have no negative impact on elephants.
She said her statement is supported by a comprehensive assessment of the proposal to downlist the elephant population.
“Zambia’s proposal to down list the elephant population is based on findings of a comprehensive assessment that showed that commercial trade would not be detrimental to the survival of the elephant,” Ms Namugala said.
She said this yesterday at a media breakfast in Lusaka at which she discussed the country’s readiness to apply for the downlisting as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is taking place in Qatar, United Arab Emirates.
Ms Namugala said the application is timely, as elephants are no longer threatened with extinction like they used to be during the early 1980s when their population was 27,000.
She said the sale of elephants and elephant products will benefit both Government and communities living alongside the animals.
Ms Namugala said if the country is allowed to start selling elephants and their products, the Zambia Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) will be able to carry out its conservation functions more efficiently.
She said ZAWA needs about US$20 million annually to effectively function but that it only receives about US$12 million from Government.
Ms Namugala said Government cannot bridge the gap between the amounts owing to competing national developmental needs.
She said the sale of elephants will also improve the flow of economic resources in areas where elephants are killed.
Ms Namugala said ZAWA gives back 50 percent of all sales it makes from animals killed to respective communities.
She said such communities should expect a marked increase in financial allocations from the authority if Zambia is allowed to downlist the elephant population.
Ms Namugala said this would compensate communities that are adversely affected by human-elephant conflicts.
She said due to the increase in their population, elephants are causing damage to people’s crops and endangering their lives.
She said the proposal to downlist is aimed at facilitating trade in live elephants to acceptable destinations and trade in raw skins from controlled elephants.
She said the proposal will facilitate hunting trophies for non-commercial purposes.
Ms Namugala said apart from that, the proposal will facilitate the sale of 21.6 tonnes of stockpile of raw ivory currently in custody at ZAWA offices.
And Chieftainess Chiyawa supports the country’s proposal to downlist, reiterating that such a development would provide compensation for her subjects whose crops and property are destroyed by elephants.
Chieftainess Chiyawa said her people are experiencing food insecurity due to human-elephant conflicts.
She said the people are afraid to go fishing and to cultivate their fields because of the conflict.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Zambia: ECZ to use Biometric technology in Voter registration for Decision 2011
The Electoral Commision of Zambia (ECZ), with the assiatnce of the United Nations (UN), will this year use Biometric technology to conduct voter registration. Biometric technology is used to measure and analyze human body characteristics, such as fingerprints, for for either identification or verification purposes.
The UN, through its Development Programme (UNDP), has already selected a company called Smartmatic to provide the new technologies for the improvement of the electoral register for ECZ.
For the first stage of the project, Smartmatic will supply ECZ with 1,000 mobile electronic biometric registry units, known as PARkits. This kit will include all hardware and software components, with their respective protective cases, training services, technical assistance and a one-year warranty.
Smartmatic, a leading provider of technological solutions for governments, was selected after the UN conducted a rigorous testing of numerous identity and registry technologies.
“We are very excited to be selected by the UNDP for this important project and to have the opportunity to provide the Republic of Zambia with our advanced technology to enhance their electoral register”, said Antonio Mugica, Smartmatic’s CEO. The PARkit units that will be used in Zambia are all equipped with Smartmatic’s registration application and with electrical backup components that ensure its autonomy for 8 straight hours.
The UNDP expects recruiting of operators to start on the second week of April and the electoral registration operations to begin in May 2010.The voter registration project in Zambia is part of the UNDP’s ongoing commitment to improve the performance of democratic governments. The UNDP invests 34% of its resources each year in projects in support of democratic governments and provides on-the-ground services in 166 countries.
Smartmatic specialises in fully-automated, electronic voting systems which they claim are completely secure, reliable and auditable. In January this year, their electronic voting system was successfully used in a parliamentary elections in ,Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the
PARMobile Kit used for Identity Registration
Venezuelan coast. The big test for the company’s voting system will be in Phillipines, where that country’s Electoral Commission has deployed an automated electronic system by Smartmatic for use in this year’s May elections.
It is however not clear weather the ECZ will use Smartmatic’s automated electoral systems or just use their voter registration component. While automated voting system are claimed to deliver results timely and with confidence, many people are still sceptical of the successful deployment of such an operation in Zambia at the moment because of infrastructure challenges.
Timely release of results has been at the centre of frustration that many a Zambian voters and Political parties have had to endure in the last couple of elections. Any solution to address this problem will roundly be welcomed by all parties involved.
The UN, through its Development Programme (UNDP), has already selected a company called Smartmatic to provide the new technologies for the improvement of the electoral register for ECZ.
For the first stage of the project, Smartmatic will supply ECZ with 1,000 mobile electronic biometric registry units, known as PARkits. This kit will include all hardware and software components, with their respective protective cases, training services, technical assistance and a one-year warranty.
Smartmatic, a leading provider of technological solutions for governments, was selected after the UN conducted a rigorous testing of numerous identity and registry technologies.
“We are very excited to be selected by the UNDP for this important project and to have the opportunity to provide the Republic of Zambia with our advanced technology to enhance their electoral register”, said Antonio Mugica, Smartmatic’s CEO. The PARkit units that will be used in Zambia are all equipped with Smartmatic’s registration application and with electrical backup components that ensure its autonomy for 8 straight hours.
The UNDP expects recruiting of operators to start on the second week of April and the electoral registration operations to begin in May 2010.The voter registration project in Zambia is part of the UNDP’s ongoing commitment to improve the performance of democratic governments. The UNDP invests 34% of its resources each year in projects in support of democratic governments and provides on-the-ground services in 166 countries.
Smartmatic specialises in fully-automated, electronic voting systems which they claim are completely secure, reliable and auditable. In January this year, their electronic voting system was successfully used in a parliamentary elections in ,Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the
PARMobile Kit used for Identity Registration
Venezuelan coast. The big test for the company’s voting system will be in Phillipines, where that country’s Electoral Commission has deployed an automated electronic system by Smartmatic for use in this year’s May elections.
It is however not clear weather the ECZ will use Smartmatic’s automated electoral systems or just use their voter registration component. While automated voting system are claimed to deliver results timely and with confidence, many people are still sceptical of the successful deployment of such an operation in Zambia at the moment because of infrastructure challenges.
Timely release of results has been at the centre of frustration that many a Zambian voters and Political parties have had to endure in the last couple of elections. Any solution to address this problem will roundly be welcomed by all parties involved.
Conservation: Practical solution for farmers
Threats posed by climate change, environmental degradation and food insecurity in Africa have assumed top position on the development agenda. This is because it has become essential that rural families are offered practical solutions that address these challenges through the adoption of simple aproven farming systems. Our staffer KAPALA CHISUNKA reports on how farmers who practise conservation farming in Shimabala area in Kafue have adapted to the new farming method and have eliminated their dependency on food aid and produce excellent crops despite droughts.
BEFORE Elleman Mumba was encouraged to practise conservation farming by his wife, he was frustrated by his methods because of the erratic rain patterns and continuous droughts that had adversely affected his yield.
The poor crop produce also affected his family income because there was no money for his household needs. For most of the time, Mr Mumba relied on his produce for cash while he had to feed his family from the same.
“As a farmer, regardless of which scale I fell on, it didn’t make sense that I, the producer of food, should be wallowing in poverty and fail to sustain and feed my family from the same crops that I ably grow on my farm,” Mr Mumba observed.
He said his family was so financially incapacitated that he even failed to send his children to school because every planting season brought with it more disasters which adversely affected his yield.
Mr Mumba, however, said everything changed for the better for his family when his wife, who was then employed by Programme Against Malnutrition (PAM), informed him about conservation farming and its benefits.
He fell for it and now he is a happier farmer.
Since he adopted conservation farming and crop rotation, Mr Mumba no longer worries about poor rainfall or late delivery of farming inputs such as fertiliser because by planting early, he is able to harvest enough maize, legumes, groundnuts, cow peas and pigeon peas which he sells for a profit.
His life has totally been transformed and he has been able to buy farming equipment which he hires to other farmers in his locality.
“That was a couple of years ago. Now I can manage to send all my children to school. I own a large piece of land and I have 10 cattle out of the initial four. Not only that, with the new technologies that we employ in conservation farming, we are able to harvest more than enough food to eat and sell,” he said proudly.
Mr Mumba is one of the 150 farmers practising conservation farming in Shimabala area who are benefiting from the Royal Norwegian Government-sponsored programme on conservation farming.
Through the programme, which has been going on since 1996, Mr Mumba has been trained and he has in turn trained fellow small-scale farmers in his area on the use of conservation farming technologies to minimise their reliance on the increasingly expensive fertiliser as well as regenerate rather than exploit the environment in which they live.
Norway supports the development of conservation farming in Zambia through the conservation farming unit of Zambia under the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) and the Zambian government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives.
Recently, the Norwegian state secretary for development co-operation, Ingrid Fiskaa, was in the country and she visited some of the farmers who practise conservation farming in the Shimabala area.
During her visit, Ms Fiskaa was informed by the farmers of the successes and challenges of conservation farming and how they expect donors to continue assisting them so that poverty is completely eliminated from their communities.
After the tour, Ms Fiskaa said she was impressed with the accomplishments of the farmers and urged other farmers who were still skeptical to join their friends for the improvement of their lives.
“I am impressed with what is happening here in terms of the new farming techniques which farmers are using because it is a sustainable way of doing agriculture and it does not necessarily require expensive equipment,” she said.
Ms Fiskaa said with the emergence of climate change whose effects are being felt globally, food insecurity will be more prominent in the near future if the agricultural sector is not fully supported.
Ms Fiskaa said as long as governments do not sustain better and improved agricultural methods, it will be difficult to address the food crisis, especially in terms of sharing food being produced globally.
Ms Fiskaa said the farming techniques which farmers are using will help empower them and put them in control as opposed to having farmers who cannot afford to store food for themselves due to poverty.
She called for increased support towards the agricultural sector if levels of food insecurity and poverty are to be reduced.
Earlier, CFU director Peter Aagaard commended the Norwegian and Zambian governments for their commitment towards the agricultural sector.
Mr Aagaard said because of Government’s deliberate national policy on agriculture, many small-scale farmers have been able to develop through the promotion and adoption of conservation farming.
He said conservation farming is beneficial to both the farmers and the environment.
Mr Aagaard said farmers who adopt conservation farming reduce their costs, increase yields, improve nutrition, minimise chances of crop failure in drought years, increase profits and help improve land fertility.
“Under conservation farming, farmers use conservation tillage methods to establish their crops as well as grow legumes in rotation with other crops. Legumes, depending on the varieties grown, fix nitrogen, improve soil fertility, break soil pans and are an excellent source of protein for the family,” Mr Aagaard said.
Story:courtesy of the Zambia Daily Mail Newspaper
BEFORE Elleman Mumba was encouraged to practise conservation farming by his wife, he was frustrated by his methods because of the erratic rain patterns and continuous droughts that had adversely affected his yield.
The poor crop produce also affected his family income because there was no money for his household needs. For most of the time, Mr Mumba relied on his produce for cash while he had to feed his family from the same.
“As a farmer, regardless of which scale I fell on, it didn’t make sense that I, the producer of food, should be wallowing in poverty and fail to sustain and feed my family from the same crops that I ably grow on my farm,” Mr Mumba observed.
He said his family was so financially incapacitated that he even failed to send his children to school because every planting season brought with it more disasters which adversely affected his yield.
Mr Mumba, however, said everything changed for the better for his family when his wife, who was then employed by Programme Against Malnutrition (PAM), informed him about conservation farming and its benefits.
He fell for it and now he is a happier farmer.
Since he adopted conservation farming and crop rotation, Mr Mumba no longer worries about poor rainfall or late delivery of farming inputs such as fertiliser because by planting early, he is able to harvest enough maize, legumes, groundnuts, cow peas and pigeon peas which he sells for a profit.
His life has totally been transformed and he has been able to buy farming equipment which he hires to other farmers in his locality.
“That was a couple of years ago. Now I can manage to send all my children to school. I own a large piece of land and I have 10 cattle out of the initial four. Not only that, with the new technologies that we employ in conservation farming, we are able to harvest more than enough food to eat and sell,” he said proudly.
Mr Mumba is one of the 150 farmers practising conservation farming in Shimabala area who are benefiting from the Royal Norwegian Government-sponsored programme on conservation farming.
Through the programme, which has been going on since 1996, Mr Mumba has been trained and he has in turn trained fellow small-scale farmers in his area on the use of conservation farming technologies to minimise their reliance on the increasingly expensive fertiliser as well as regenerate rather than exploit the environment in which they live.
Norway supports the development of conservation farming in Zambia through the conservation farming unit of Zambia under the Zambia National Farmers Union (ZNFU) and the Zambian government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives.
Recently, the Norwegian state secretary for development co-operation, Ingrid Fiskaa, was in the country and she visited some of the farmers who practise conservation farming in the Shimabala area.
During her visit, Ms Fiskaa was informed by the farmers of the successes and challenges of conservation farming and how they expect donors to continue assisting them so that poverty is completely eliminated from their communities.
After the tour, Ms Fiskaa said she was impressed with the accomplishments of the farmers and urged other farmers who were still skeptical to join their friends for the improvement of their lives.
“I am impressed with what is happening here in terms of the new farming techniques which farmers are using because it is a sustainable way of doing agriculture and it does not necessarily require expensive equipment,” she said.
Ms Fiskaa said with the emergence of climate change whose effects are being felt globally, food insecurity will be more prominent in the near future if the agricultural sector is not fully supported.
Ms Fiskaa said as long as governments do not sustain better and improved agricultural methods, it will be difficult to address the food crisis, especially in terms of sharing food being produced globally.
Ms Fiskaa said the farming techniques which farmers are using will help empower them and put them in control as opposed to having farmers who cannot afford to store food for themselves due to poverty.
She called for increased support towards the agricultural sector if levels of food insecurity and poverty are to be reduced.
Earlier, CFU director Peter Aagaard commended the Norwegian and Zambian governments for their commitment towards the agricultural sector.
Mr Aagaard said because of Government’s deliberate national policy on agriculture, many small-scale farmers have been able to develop through the promotion and adoption of conservation farming.
He said conservation farming is beneficial to both the farmers and the environment.
Mr Aagaard said farmers who adopt conservation farming reduce their costs, increase yields, improve nutrition, minimise chances of crop failure in drought years, increase profits and help improve land fertility.
“Under conservation farming, farmers use conservation tillage methods to establish their crops as well as grow legumes in rotation with other crops. Legumes, depending on the varieties grown, fix nitrogen, improve soil fertility, break soil pans and are an excellent source of protein for the family,” Mr Aagaard said.
Story:courtesy of the Zambia Daily Mail Newspaper
Friday, February 26, 2010
Another malaria research center in Zambia
Talent Ng’andwe
26 February, 2010
Lusaka-Another malaria research center has been launched in Zambia’s copper belt province, Thursday, giving another boost to efforts by the southern African country to fight the killer disease.
Zambia has already made tremendous progress towards the fight against malaria, deaths reported from health facilities in Zambia have declined by 66 per cent. This result along with other supporting data indicates that Zambia has reached the 2010 Roll Back Malaria target of a more than 50 per cent reduction in malaria mortality compared to 2000.
The research center to be located in Ndola at the Tropical Diseases Research Center (TDRC), also called as the insectary will play an active role in the prevention and spread of malaria.
Director of TDRC, Modest Mulenga said the center will benefit malaria research activities in the country.
“This facility will greatly assist as far as making advances in the type of insecticides to use and learn more about different types of mosquitoes,” Mulenga said.
Zambia has another malaria research center at Macha in the southern part of the country.
The country has put up a very aggressive malaria control in Africa and it is on track not only to meet malaria targets but also to slash child deaths to Millennium Development Goal levels, according to WHO.
It is among the ten countries, where most people use insecticide-treated bednets and receive the correct treatment, have cut illness and deaths by half, says the WHO's 'World Malaria Report 2009.
The decline in Zambia was especially steep after 3.6 million long-lasting insecticidal nets were distributed between 2006 and 2008. During this period malaria deaths declined 47% and nationwide surveys showed parasite prevalence declined 53% from 21.8% to 10.2% and the percentage of children with severe anaemia declined 68% from 13.3% to 4.3%. Most moderate and severe anaemia in children is caused by malaria.
"This is a remarkable achievement and a tribute to the hard work and commitment of the Ministry of Health of Zambia and its partners to combat malaria," said Dr Luís Gomes Sambo, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
"As we celebrate World Malaria Day this week, I urge all countries affected by malaria to intensify and sustain malaria control and elimination efforts in order to meet the 2010 goal of 100% coverage."
But threats to of resistance to antimalarial drugs, in particular the potent anti-malarial artemisinin cannot be ignored.
Zambia’s Minister of health Kapembwa Simbao, said the Government of Zambia is committed to increasing coverage of key malaria control interventions and reducing the burden of malaria throughout the country.
"We will endeavour to continue to build on progress made and ensure that malaria control is addressed as part of a health systems strengthening effort to ensure that ACTs will reach all persons with suspected malaria thereby ensuring universal coverage," Simabo said.
Foreign mining companies operating in Zambia have been in the forefront in supporting the fight against malaria.
26 February, 2010
Lusaka-Another malaria research center has been launched in Zambia’s copper belt province, Thursday, giving another boost to efforts by the southern African country to fight the killer disease.
Zambia has already made tremendous progress towards the fight against malaria, deaths reported from health facilities in Zambia have declined by 66 per cent. This result along with other supporting data indicates that Zambia has reached the 2010 Roll Back Malaria target of a more than 50 per cent reduction in malaria mortality compared to 2000.
The research center to be located in Ndola at the Tropical Diseases Research Center (TDRC), also called as the insectary will play an active role in the prevention and spread of malaria.
Director of TDRC, Modest Mulenga said the center will benefit malaria research activities in the country.
“This facility will greatly assist as far as making advances in the type of insecticides to use and learn more about different types of mosquitoes,” Mulenga said.
Zambia has another malaria research center at Macha in the southern part of the country.
The country has put up a very aggressive malaria control in Africa and it is on track not only to meet malaria targets but also to slash child deaths to Millennium Development Goal levels, according to WHO.
It is among the ten countries, where most people use insecticide-treated bednets and receive the correct treatment, have cut illness and deaths by half, says the WHO's 'World Malaria Report 2009.
The decline in Zambia was especially steep after 3.6 million long-lasting insecticidal nets were distributed between 2006 and 2008. During this period malaria deaths declined 47% and nationwide surveys showed parasite prevalence declined 53% from 21.8% to 10.2% and the percentage of children with severe anaemia declined 68% from 13.3% to 4.3%. Most moderate and severe anaemia in children is caused by malaria.
"This is a remarkable achievement and a tribute to the hard work and commitment of the Ministry of Health of Zambia and its partners to combat malaria," said Dr Luís Gomes Sambo, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
"As we celebrate World Malaria Day this week, I urge all countries affected by malaria to intensify and sustain malaria control and elimination efforts in order to meet the 2010 goal of 100% coverage."
But threats to of resistance to antimalarial drugs, in particular the potent anti-malarial artemisinin cannot be ignored.
Zambia’s Minister of health Kapembwa Simbao, said the Government of Zambia is committed to increasing coverage of key malaria control interventions and reducing the burden of malaria throughout the country.
"We will endeavour to continue to build on progress made and ensure that malaria control is addressed as part of a health systems strengthening effort to ensure that ACTs will reach all persons with suspected malaria thereby ensuring universal coverage," Simabo said.
Foreign mining companies operating in Zambia have been in the forefront in supporting the fight against malaria.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Ethics of Zambian ‘Microbicides research’ questioned
Talent Ng’andwe
16 February, 2010
As debate intensifies on the failed microbicides research in Mazabuka, southern Zambia, the scientific community should come out and declare a moratorium on the allegedly unethical behavior during failed clinical trial of the anti-AIDS virus gel, microbicide PRO 2000.
The reason given by the University of Zambia Biomedical Research Ethics Committee (Unzarec) chairperson James Munthali to clarify that the 46 women in Mazabuka who participated in the research on Microbicide Development Programme trial 301 were not infected with HIV/AIDS as a result of the research, leaves much to be desired.
Munthali puts it in his statement that there was no cause to believe that the 46 women out of the 1,332 who were enrolled during the research were infected because of their participation in the research and his position was in line with results obtained from the same research conducted in South Africa , Tanzania and Uganda .
“We will continue to ensure that the lives and health of Zambians participating in research are safeguarded through vigorous review and monitoring of any research to be conducted in Zambia,”Muntali said.
He further said after all ethical requirements, researchers were granted approval on April 5, 2005 to start the research and the evolution of the study was documented.
But Zambian scientist should develop standards to guide research on microbicides — substances that kill or block the HIV virus?
The aim of the guidelines would be to prevent unethical clinical trials and to minimise health risks to women taking part in them.
The Southern African Aids Trust in one of its reports puts it that, throughout Africa , there are concerns that women participating in clinical trials risk becoming infected with HIV during the testing of microbicides if they have sex with men who have the virus.
Little support is given to women participating in the trials, and few attempts are made to protect their rights in the event of them suffering side-effects.
The transparency and accountability of researchers running clinical trials should also be subjected to scrutiny.
Fears grow that the low literacy level of many women in rural areas of Africa countries means they would have difficulty understanding and information provided and the contract they are asked to sign.
Sisonke Msimang, a South African HIV/AIDS and gender activist, says that an effective microbicide would not help tackle HIV/AIDS on its own. Women would also need to be consulted about how they would use such drugs, to develop a practical product that is safe, effective and affordable.
Researchers will need to investigate ways to enable women to discuss with their partners currently taboo topics such as sexuality and contraception, so that the subject of microbicides is easier to broach, said Msimang.
The importance of tackling the socio-economic difficulties facing African women was highlighted in the 2004 report from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
The agency states that almost half of the 37.2 million adults who have HIV worldwide are women — a stark contrast from the start of the AIDS epidemic when most infected individuals were men. According the report, in sub-Saharan Africa almost 60 per cent (13.3 million) of adults with HIV are women.
Women are biologically more susceptible to the virus than men, but they also have less power than men over the measures they are able to take to prevent infection, says the UNAIDS report.
As UNAIDS's deputy director Kathleen Cravero explained at one of her press conferences in London that, cultural norms and taboos prevent women from asking their husbands or sexual partners to use condoms or to take HIV tests.
In response to the UNAIDS report, Zeda Rosenberg of the International Partnership for Microbicides called on the world's governments to boost investment in microbicide research and development. She added that "the pharmaceutical industry must also continue to make new antiviral agents available for testing as microbicides".
Funding is crucial, Rosenburg points out. "With an additional global investment of US$1 billion, microbicides could be in the hands of women in developing countries within the next five to ten years, potentially saving 2.5 million lives over three years."
16 February, 2010
As debate intensifies on the failed microbicides research in Mazabuka, southern Zambia, the scientific community should come out and declare a moratorium on the allegedly unethical behavior during failed clinical trial of the anti-AIDS virus gel, microbicide PRO 2000.
The reason given by the University of Zambia Biomedical Research Ethics Committee (Unzarec) chairperson James Munthali to clarify that the 46 women in Mazabuka who participated in the research on Microbicide Development Programme trial 301 were not infected with HIV/AIDS as a result of the research, leaves much to be desired.
Munthali puts it in his statement that there was no cause to believe that the 46 women out of the 1,332 who were enrolled during the research were infected because of their participation in the research and his position was in line with results obtained from the same research conducted in South Africa , Tanzania and Uganda .
“We will continue to ensure that the lives and health of Zambians participating in research are safeguarded through vigorous review and monitoring of any research to be conducted in Zambia,”Muntali said.
He further said after all ethical requirements, researchers were granted approval on April 5, 2005 to start the research and the evolution of the study was documented.
But Zambian scientist should develop standards to guide research on microbicides — substances that kill or block the HIV virus?
The aim of the guidelines would be to prevent unethical clinical trials and to minimise health risks to women taking part in them.
The Southern African Aids Trust in one of its reports puts it that, throughout Africa , there are concerns that women participating in clinical trials risk becoming infected with HIV during the testing of microbicides if they have sex with men who have the virus.
Little support is given to women participating in the trials, and few attempts are made to protect their rights in the event of them suffering side-effects.
The transparency and accountability of researchers running clinical trials should also be subjected to scrutiny.
Fears grow that the low literacy level of many women in rural areas of Africa countries means they would have difficulty understanding and information provided and the contract they are asked to sign.
Sisonke Msimang, a South African HIV/AIDS and gender activist, says that an effective microbicide would not help tackle HIV/AIDS on its own. Women would also need to be consulted about how they would use such drugs, to develop a practical product that is safe, effective and affordable.
Researchers will need to investigate ways to enable women to discuss with their partners currently taboo topics such as sexuality and contraception, so that the subject of microbicides is easier to broach, said Msimang.
The importance of tackling the socio-economic difficulties facing African women was highlighted in the 2004 report from the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).
The agency states that almost half of the 37.2 million adults who have HIV worldwide are women — a stark contrast from the start of the AIDS epidemic when most infected individuals were men. According the report, in sub-Saharan Africa almost 60 per cent (13.3 million) of adults with HIV are women.
Women are biologically more susceptible to the virus than men, but they also have less power than men over the measures they are able to take to prevent infection, says the UNAIDS report.
As UNAIDS's deputy director Kathleen Cravero explained at one of her press conferences in London that, cultural norms and taboos prevent women from asking their husbands or sexual partners to use condoms or to take HIV tests.
In response to the UNAIDS report, Zeda Rosenberg of the International Partnership for Microbicides called on the world's governments to boost investment in microbicide research and development. She added that "the pharmaceutical industry must also continue to make new antiviral agents available for testing as microbicides".
Funding is crucial, Rosenburg points out. "With an additional global investment of US$1 billion, microbicides could be in the hands of women in developing countries within the next five to ten years, potentially saving 2.5 million lives over three years."
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