Another year has quickly passed; it’s time once again to pause, give thanks, and sort out what we’ve learned in the interim. This facility is uniquely given to us humans alone with the responsibility to apply that learned wisdom to where we want to go in the future. And even among the human race, it is not given to many to be so fortunate!
The past year has seen technical and programmatic advances in global health, especially related to the remarkable drop in malaria mortality and morbidity in sub-Sahara Africa. For example, a recent analysis of malaria prevention in 34 African countries estimates that over 730,000 lives were saved between 2000 and 2010, nearly three quarters of them since 2006, when the use of both insecticides treated mosquito nets and artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) became more widespread. Furthermore, according to 2011 statistics, only one out of ten people in the city of Dar es Salaam have malaria parasites. Research scientists from the Ifakara Health Institute (IHI) Dr Stefan Dongus and Prosper Chaki stated that there is also a dramatic drop in infections among households. Dr Chaki explained that in 2009/2010 malaria prevalence was 13 percent, attributing the situation to a decrease in mosquito density by 90 percent. This decrease in mosquito density is due to implementation of various projects over the last five years, including larvicide-spraying.[1] Certainly this is a cause for celebration!
But before we get carried away with today’s advances, it behooves us to pause for a moment and look back on history not to miss the lessons so carefully learned from those heroes upon which our current advances are built.
Submitted by Gilda Bettencourt on 28 March, 2012 - 08:18
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