‘Malawi lags behind in malaria fight’

Malawi continues to struggle in its fight against malaria which is contributing to 95 percent of deaths emanating from infectious diseases, experts say.

In an interview on Thursday, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust coordinator Eric Njoka said the situation shows that Malawi has a long way to go in eradicating the disease.

He was speaking on the sidelines of a World Malaria Day commemoration that the Trust held in Chikwawa on Thursday.

Said Njoka: “It’s a serious issue because even if you look at the statistics of Africa as a region, we [Malawi] are within the top 20 countries that are still heavily burdened by malaria.”

He said that at present, the Trust is conducting numerous researches on malaria that will inform policy direction as regards the challenge.

Njoka said among some of the thematic areas of the malaria research being conducted include malaria vaccines that government introduced.

In a separate interview, Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust vector biologist Kennedy Zembele said through the studies they are attaching an element of awareness to it.

“We have to raise awareness with the people, they should be able to control malaria and other vector borne-diseases,” he said.

Group village head Chikutileni said community members have been urged to work with researchers from the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust as they look for solutions to reduce malaria cases in the country.

World Malaria Day is commemorated on April 25, but the Malawi Liverpool Wellcome Trust decided to celebrate the day on May 25.

The day celebrates gains made in the fight against malaria and global efforts being made to completely eradicate the disease.