Malaria World Health Organization

Question: Discuss about theMalaria for World Health Organization. Answer: Malaria is worldwide health menace. It is caused by a bite of infected anopheles mosquito. The disease is known to cause a substantial mortality and morbidity globally. According to world health organization (WHO) 2016, approximately 3.2 billion people are at risk of malaria internationally. Comparatively, sub-Saharan Africa has been heavily affected by malaria. For instance, in the year 2016, the region had 88% of the entire cases and 90% of deaths (WHO 2016). Countries in this region ought to propound stringent strategies and measures in order to curb and eliminate this epidemic. Kenya is one of the countries in this region. It is located at the equator. Its climate throughout the years fosters favorable conditions for vector breeding thus high transmissibility. However, the burden of malaria in Kenya is not evenly distributed. The most affected areas are the regions around Lake Victoria and on the coast. Children under five years and the pregnant women are the most vulnerable groups. Approximately, 70% of the Kenyan population reside in malaria risk regions. It has also been established that falciparum plasmodium is the major strain of mosquito that causes malaria infection (Leighton Foster 2013). Malaria has had dire consequences on the Kenyan population. The disease has inflicted substantial costs on both individuals and the government. The net effect of this imposition of costs is a poor economy that is witnessed in the country. First and foremost, individuals and families have spent a ransom in an attempt curb malaria (Fosu Marabu 2014). A lot of resources have been deployed in the purchase of drugs for malaria treatment and travel to medical facilities. Additionally, malaria has resulted in lost days of work thus loss of income. Furthermore, in an attempt by individuals and families to avert malaria infections, huge expenses have been incurred in the preventive measures. This includes push clearing, indoor spraying, purchase of insecticides and treated beds nets (WHO 2016).Moreover, significant costs have also been witnessed in the burial of those succumbs to malaria infections. On the other, the government has also incurred costs in the following areas. Huge resources h ave been injected in equipping and staffing health facilities. This entails training and hiring experts to conduct research related to malaria. In addition, the public health sector has spent a lot of resources in its preventive activities. These activities include insecticide spraying, distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets etc. These endeavors to eliminate malaria has overstretched the existing meager resources and this has led to the poor living conditions in the endemic areas.This phenomenon is in tandem with Nobel Laureate in medicine T.H. Weller who observed that the endemicity of malaria in a given community impoverishes that community (Marcus 2013). Apart from the aforementioned direct costs, malaria has had a number of indirect ramifications to the population. Malaria has resulted in a shift of behaviors that has led to the incurrence of robust social costs. This includes migration, demography, and saving. Furthermore, due endemicity of malaria in these areas and the nature of epidemics that can occur, it has impacted on tourism, international trade, and investments negatively (Leighton Foster 2013). Malaria has also been implicated as a cause of high population density experienced in malarious regions. According to the ministry of health (2015), malaria has been found the main cause of infant and child mortality. It has been deduced that, among other factors, infant and child mortality is the core determinant of household fertility. Due to high infant and child mortality, parents conspire to produce more children in order to replace those that die and also to have a specific number of surviving children. This situation has been found to cause population increase and this is mainly due to the measures that have substantially reduced infant and childhood mortality (Kreier 2012). In Kenya like around the globe, stringent strategies and measures have been put in place to reduce and eliminate malaria. The ministry of health in partnership with other stakeholders has instituted a number of evidence-based measures to curb malaria. Four key interventions have been put forth (Kenya Kenya National Bureau of Statistics 2015). The country has ensured that there are prompt diagnosis and effective treatment of malaria cases. The approved diagnostic criteria is with a parasitological test that entails either microscopy or malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT).The recommended first-line treatment for uncomplicated malaria is artemether-lumefantrine (AL).For severe malaria, the treatment that has been recommended is parenteral artesunate ( WHO 2016). The government has enabled universal distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNS) among her population. This exercise has been majorly concentrated in the endemic regions. The country envisions to distribute a total of 13.6 million ITNS.This is strategy has been partly achieved as a number of counties within the endemic region have witnessed the sensitization and the distribution of the ITNS.This intervention has borne fruits.According to the ministry of health 2016, the diagnosed cases of malaria substantially reduced by 44% in the 23 counties where this exercise was executed (WHO 2016). The public health sector has also intensified indoor spraying. This is meant to control the vectors that cause malaria. This exercise targeted Lake Victoria and the coastal endemic areas. These areas have an estimated of 10.7million people. The exercise involved the use of pyrethroid insecticide (Fosu Marabu 2015). Malaria in pregnancy has been considered as a priority health menace in Kenya. This is because it is associated high mortality of both pregnant women and infants. The ministry of health has recommended the providence of intermittent preventative treatment for malaria in pregnancy (IPTP).This recommendation has seen women inhabiting in malaria endemic areas given sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. This is services mainly meted out during antenatal care (ANC) visits. The recommended number of doses is three or more Generally, despite the numerous hurdles, malaria health in Kenya is well managed. The interventions that have been commissioned are in line with the recommendations that have been advocated by statutory organs such as World health organization (WHO) and have been found to be fruitful.This is achievement is depicted by a vast decline in both morbidity and mortality associated with malaria Despite the great strides that have been made by the government in the elimination of malaria, a lot ought to be done. The government should see that the healthcare providers and the technical expertise are strengthened and capacitated. This can be achieved through ongoing training and by providing comprehensive management guidelines. This capacitation will see that the staff is updated with new strategies thus ensuring effective management of malaria. In addition, community-based approaches ought to be instituted. The community should be sensitized on ways to curb this menace and then equipped to carry out the task. This will not only reduce the cost but also will increase the coverage of these measures. Finally, the government should endeavor to equip her research institution to come up with malaria vaccines and other appropriate interventions that will eliminate malaria in the country coming up with the appropriate vaccine will greatly reduce the mortality associated with malaria. For instance, the trial phase iii of PATH malaria vaccine initiative (MVI) has been found to reduce child mortality rate by 50% (WHO 2016). References Fosu, A. K., Marabu, G. M. (2014).Malaria poverty in Africa. Nairobi: University of Nairobi Press. Isle, M. (2015).Malaria. New York: Rosen Pub. Group. Kenya Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. (2016).2015 Kenya malaria indicator survey. Nairobi, Kenya: Division of Malaria Control, Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation. Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, ICF Macro (Firm), MEASURE DHS (Program). (2016).Kenya malaria indicator survey 2015. Kreier, J. P. (2012).Malaria. New York: Academic Press. Leighton, C., Foster, R., Abt Associates. (2013).Economic Impacts of Malaria in Kenya and Nigeria: Major Applied Research Paper No. 6. Cambridge, Mass: Abt Associates. Marcus, B. A. (2013).Malaria. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers. World Health Organization. (2016).Management of severe malaria: A practical handbook. Geneva: World Health Organization. World Health Organization. (2016).World malaria report 2015. Geneva: World Health Organization.