SADC ministers attend World Malaria Day
25 April 2008, 11:17
The Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership is in Livingstone, Zambia, on Friday, marking the first World Malaria Day with a concert and speeches by local and international authorities.
Fourteen ministers of health from the Southern African Development Community, singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka, and Princess Astrid of Belgium are at the two-day celebration, which began on Thursday.
Some members visited a hospital in Livingstone and clinic in a nearby village along with the RBM expedition crew yesterday and distributed more than 1 000 mosquito nets, said Herve Verhoosel, media and project manager for the RBM partnership.
While Africa Malaria Day has been in place since 2001, World Malaria Day recognises that malaria is a disease without borders, a perception the RBM expedition is promoting.
On Friday, ministers, Princess Astrid, and Awa Marie Coll-Seck, the executive director of the RBM Partnership, are to speak on the importance of eradicating malaria. Media, sponsors of the expedition, and NGO partners are to attend.
Afterwards everyone in Livingstone may attend a free concert featuring Zambian groups, playing traditional and modern music.
The Zambezi Expedition, a four-month trip by journalists and doctors using four infalatbale boats, is to visit Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Verhoosel said: "Everything is going according to plan."
Each country the expedition visits has decided at which villages the RBM inflatable boats are to stop.
In the villages they hand out mosquito nets, test and treat people for malaria, and run educational activities on how to avoid the disease.
The expedition also carries enough mosquito nets so it can make unplanned visits to smaller villages.
This was sometimes more interesting because members could experience a normal day in the village, Verhoosel said.
"The determination of local malaria control staff and the communities to get anti-malaria equipment to where it is needed has been truly amazing," said expedition leader Helge Bendl.
courtney.brooks@inl.co.za
Fourteen ministers of health from the Southern African Development Community, singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka, and Princess Astrid of Belgium are at the two-day celebration, which began on Thursday.
Some members visited a hospital in Livingstone and clinic in a nearby village along with the RBM expedition crew yesterday and distributed more than 1 000 mosquito nets, said Herve Verhoosel, media and project manager for the RBM partnership.
While Africa Malaria Day has been in place since 2001, World Malaria Day recognises that malaria is a disease without borders, a perception the RBM expedition is promoting.
On Friday, ministers, Princess Astrid, and Awa Marie Coll-Seck, the executive director of the RBM Partnership, are to speak on the importance of eradicating malaria. Media, sponsors of the expedition, and NGO partners are to attend.
Afterwards everyone in Livingstone may attend a free concert featuring Zambian groups, playing traditional and modern music.
The Zambezi Expedition, a four-month trip by journalists and doctors using four infalatbale boats, is to visit Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Verhoosel said: "Everything is going according to plan."
Each country the expedition visits has decided at which villages the RBM inflatable boats are to stop.
In the villages they hand out mosquito nets, test and treat people for malaria, and run educational activities on how to avoid the disease.
The expedition also carries enough mosquito nets so it can make unplanned visits to smaller villages.
This was sometimes more interesting because members could experience a normal day in the village, Verhoosel said.
"The determination of local malaria control staff and the communities to get anti-malaria equipment to where it is needed has been truly amazing," said expedition leader Helge Bendl.
courtney.brooks@inl.co.za
- This article was originally published on page 7 of The Cape Times on April 25, 2008
Cape Town
