Government aims to halve malaria outbreaks by 2010

Ethiopia is aiming to cut malaria outbreaks by half by 2010, an official from the health ministry told IRIN on Monday. Dr Daddi Jima said that around 100,000 people die each year in the country from the disease. “It is a major problem for Ethiopia – it is the first cause of admissions to hospitals and the third biggest killer in the country,” he said. His comments come after the launch of Africa Malaria Day last week which revealed that an African child dies every 30 seconds from the disease. The ministry aims to specifically target children and pregnant women who are most at risk from malaria. Dr Daddi, from the malaria and vector borne diseases prevention and control team, said the government was using a three-pronged strategy to tackle the disease. The strategy involves using chemicals to spray areas of the country and delivering 800,000 insecticide treated mosquito nets in malaria-prone areas. He said they were also using disease management, like early diagnosis. More than 40 million people are estimated to be at risk of malaria in Ethiopia, with 5-6 million estimated cases occurring annually. The government is spending around US $4 million each year to tackle the disease, Dr Daddi pointed out. A further US $37 million has been received under a two-year programme from the Global Fund for malaria control.