Africa Political

                 AFRIPOL.ORG IDEAS HAVE CONSEQUENCES

Richard Holbrooke‘s coalition, Afripol and others take a stand on the war against malaria.
                                                                                                                    L-R Amb. Richard Holbrooke & Emeka Chiakwelu, the director of Afripol

Malaria disease is caused by parasites that are spread by mosquitoes. The anopheles mosquitoes transmit the malaria parasites that cause malaria in humans. The economic impact of diseases in the continent is strikingly devastating, with more than $12 billion productivity and income lost saddle on Africa back annually on just malaria alone. Children in schooling age who are suffering from malaria missed out in their school works and when breadwinner of a family is infected the family sometimes goes hungry temporal. The ramification of malaria in the continent cannot be overemphasis.

Afripol Organization is sitting up a special committee, which will strategically work with other organizations on the war against malaria. In another dimension, Richard Holbrooke the president and CEO of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, an alliance of 220 international companies is dedicated to combating malaria epidemics through the business sector's skills and expertise. A distinguished foreign serviceman, Richard Holbrooke was U.S. Ambassador to Germany and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Holbrooke received seven nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize as chief negotiator at the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the war in Bosnia. In addition to his career in diplomacy, Holbrooke was vice chairman of CreditSuisse First Boston and managing director of Lehman Brothers. He is currently vice chairman of Perseus, a leading private equity firm.

Malaria illness imposes great burden on the society as it has adverse effects on the physical, mental and social well being of the people as well as on the economic development of the nation. In Africa malaria causes more than one million deaths each year. The cost of malaria illness, treatment and death cost in Africa is over $100 billion a year. The majority who die are the children of Africa. Deaths linked to malaria in Africa are on the increase due to changes in the environment, movement of populations arising from political instability and civil strife, resistance of malaria to common and inexpensive medicines, resistance of mosquitoes to insecticides, and limitations in national health services. Malaria keeps Africa's people poor. It prevents adults from working and children from attending school. Each year a family spends several months' earnings on malaria treatment and prevention. Malaria during pregnancy is also of great concern, since it adversely affects the mother's health and may result in a baby born too small to survive.

Speaking at World Affairs Council in Houston, Richard Holbrooke said that eradication of malaria is feasible in Africa, Latin America and other regions with malaria epidemics because America has shown that is doable and with commitment from governments and private industries that it can be accomplished, he stressed.

“People may not realize, we had malaria in the United States until 1946, and we were able to eradicate it”
                                 - Mrs Laura Bush, The first lady of USA

In the first quarter of this century, malaria was rampant in U.S.A. with nearly 6 million cases annually. Due to determined antimalaria measures and permanent vector control measures like screening of all constructions, malaria has been controlled effectively. In fact, the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) in U.S.A. was founded as the Office of Malaria Control! Since 1940 57 localized outbreaks have been reported. In1970, 4247 cases were reported and more than 4000 of these were US military personnel returning from Vietnam.
Emeka Chiakwelu, director of Afripol delivered a paper on the combating of malaria in Nigeria at Zumunta Association USA Organization annual conference. Chiakwelu tendered the strategic plan to roll back malaria, which includes:

                                                                                           Emeka Chiakwelu, director of Afripol addressing Zumunta conference

* Setting -up “Health farms” and Clinics,
*Monthly Education and Awareness campaign on Malaria,
*Mobile Health units and * Media Campaign
The accomplishment of the above proposed targeted plans, Mr. Chiakwelu enumerated will enable families and individuals at risk to prevent malaria, together with the promotion of vector control, including environmental management.

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