Haiti receives ‘Malaria Champion’ award
WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) — Haiti has been recognised for its work on “Closing local gaps toward Malaria Elimination”.
The recognition has come from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and partner agencies. In addition to haiti, they have also heaped praises on Brazil and the Dominican Republic.
PAHO said two projects, one in a remote area of the Amazon in Brazil and another one in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, won recognition for their outstanding work in interrupting malaria transmission and developing local systems to access malaria diagnosis and treatment.
In the Dominican Republic and Haiti, PAHO said a bi-national project to eliminate malaria in Hispaniola, the island that comprises the Dominican Republic and Haiti, spanning border communities of Ouanaminthe and Dajabon, received the Malaria Champion award for its “outstanding achievements” and creative response.
PAHO said both countries used “innovative technologies that involve the private sector and community and traditional health workers to improve surveillance, diagnosis and treatment of malaria.”
The project in the Municipality of Eirunepé in the Amazonas, Brazil, was recognized for reducing the malaria burden in isolated population groups living in logistically challenging areas.
Because of their work, PAHO said malaria cases have dropped from 8,000 in 2013 to 126 cases for October 2017.
PAHO said the project was cited as an “outstanding example of a community and health service system that gave high priority to malaria and overcame the challenges of decentralization by involving various sectors, multiple stakeholders, and strengthening the capacity of local institutions.”
“The rise of malaria cases suggests much more needs to be done,” said PAHO Assistant Director Dr. Francisco Becerra, adding “the resurgence of cases in some countries demonstrates that our achievements remain fragile.”
Malaria, transmitted by mosquitoes, is still endemic in 21 countries of the Americas, including the Caribbean, with most of the cases concentrated within the Amazon sub-region.
PAHO said malaria remains a “serious threat “in the Americas, with more than 100 million persons at risk of contracting the disease.
