Malaria epidemic feared

Fears are mounting of a major malaria epidemic in Ethiopia, officials at the ministry of health told IRIN on Tuesday. Gezahegn Tesfaye, who heads the department’s anti-malaria unit, said the country was bracing itself for an outbreak after the rainy season ends in September. He also appealed to the international community for additional support in combating any outbreak by providing equipment such as insecticide sprays. Malaria is the third biggest killer in Ethiopia, claiming around 100,000 lives each year. The last major epidemic was in 1998. More than 40 million people are estimated to be at risk of malaria in the country, with around 5 million cases occurring annually. Gezahegn warned that many victims had been weakened due to the severe drought in the country. “Due to the drought situation many people are malnourished and their immunity is lower,” Gezahegn told IRIN. “We are worried that there may be a serious epidemic after the rains.” But although regional health authorities are currently reporting large malaria outbreaks, Gezahegn says that often the data are incomplete and unreliable. Around 100,000 people have already contracted malaria in the last few months in the drought-hit Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region (SNNPR). Another 53,000 are affected in northern Ethiopia's Amhara region. Gezahegn said many regional authorities lacked sufficient “operational funds” – money used to provide nets or chemicals that can treat infected areas. Ethiopia is one of a number of countries which is aiming to cut malaria cases by half in the next seven years. The government spends around US $4 million a year to tackle the disease, and US $37 million has been received under a two-year programme from the Global Fund for malaria control.