Bednets and Malaria (3)
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Dear Colleagues
The economic impact of Malaria in tropical areas is well known
on the ground, but really does not get the attention it deserves
in the global health and development dialog. WHO, UNICEF and
many donors had it as a very high priority in the 1950s and the
1960s, but it has been a much lower priority since then, to the
detriment of affected tropical areas.
A conference in North Carolina last week addressed some of the
issues of malaria in Africa, with a focus on Liberia. The chal-
lenge... to reduce the prevalence of malaria sustainably and
permanently.
I agree with Jeffrey Sachs and others when they say that $5 is
not much to protect a child's life. But I am not sure that if I
was an African parent that I would spend $5 on a bednet when a
community driven program to eradicate mosquitos could probably
be done for the same or less money.
I am grateful to Bill Gates for his foundation's support for
vaccine development using very good modern medical science, but
that work has a long lead time. In the meantime I would like to
see similar levels of immediate spending on mosquito eradica-
tion... and the establishment of a local technical capacity in
all its dimensions to run these programs efficiently. In other
words local contractors with high level professional staff who
know what they are doing, together with the necessary equipment
and supplies, including medical and monitoring equipment.
I do not have the numbers in front of me, but the Global Fund
for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has a big component for ma-
laria... I would be curious to know how much has gone to pro-
grams that address the mosquito vector. The same for the US
PEPFAR program and other donor initiatives.
I am aware of a lot of the arguments against addressing the mos-
quito vector using pesticides... and I would welcome information
that conclusively shows that such an approach is wrong... or
right.
I have a simple PowerPoint presentation on the Economics of Ma-
laria... very simple... that I am happy to share. Please contact
me off list if you are interested.
Peter Burgess
Tr-Ac-Net in New York
Tel.: +1-212-772-6918
mailto:peterbnyc@gmail.com
The Transparency and Accountability Network
With Kris Dev in Chennai India
and others in South Asia, Africa and Latin America
http://tr-ac-net.blogspot.com