African leaders showing 'clear commitment' to fighting malaria

Sep 29 2011

"The focused attention that malaria has received by African governments and international organizations has had a major impact, with the rates of mortality coming down dramatically in the continent," and the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) has helped lead this campaign, an IPP Media editorial states. However, "[a]s long as malaria continues to be Africa's leading killer, little progress can be recorded in other endeavors, because of its insidious effect," the editorial writes, noting that two percent of Africa's GDP is lost annually because of the disease.

"It is our expectation that the clear commitment shown by the African leaders in fighting on will find equally enthusiastic support from those directly implementing the various campaigns to rid the continent of the scourge" and "they will ensure that there is no mismanagement of resources aimed at ridding the continent of this development hurdle," the editorial states (9/27).