Published by participants in the  Certificate in Journalism program

of the African Virtual University-Indiana University of Pennsylvania Partnership.

The African Star

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Malaria now a major public health problem

Malaria is a preventable and curable disease that kills millions of African children every year.

 It is a disease of major public health concern in the African region, with about 550 million African at risk.

In the Gambia, malaria is also a major public health concern, it accounts for 4 percent death in infants and 25 percent death in children from 1 to 4 years of age. About ninety two percent of all malaria deaths occur at home.

The most vulnerable persons that malaria affect in the Gambia are the children under the ages of five and pregnant women, especially in the rural areas were children experience 0.5to 1.0 clinical attack of malaria a year.

The peak transmission period of malaria in the later part of the rainy season, with season variation. The disease burden is greater in the central river division and upper river division recording the highest rate of malaria.

A person might know that he or she has malaria, when he or she experiences continuous headache, lack of appetite and high temperature, then he or she can go to the nearest health facility to do a malaria test.

The Anopheles Gambiae mosquito transmits malaria, the vector is called plasmodium that is normally found in stagnant water.

Malaria accounts for considerable loss days of productivity among the adult population in the Gambia, absenteeism from schools and work places. Malaria is therefore not only a health problem but also a developmental one. It is also believe that the link between malaria and poverty is well recognize in the Gambia.