Combating malaria: US says invested nearly 1.2 BFCFA in Cameroon this year.

The information is contained in a statement issued by the US Embassy in Yaounde. It was issued in commemoration of the World Mosquito Day, observed globally every August 20.

World Mosquito Day marks the day British medical doctor and winner of the Nobel Prize for Physiology, Sir Ronald Ross; discovered that female anopheles mosquitos transmit malaria between humans. 

In this year’s commemoration, the US government highlighted the need for continued efforts in vector control, prevention and research to mitigate the impact of mosquito-borne diseases on human health and well-being.

Going by the US Embassy statement, about 1.2 billion FCFA has been invested on the monitoring of vector, insecticide testing, and streamlined durability monitoring for mosquito nets, usage of mosquito nets and capacity building for larval surveys for anopheles stephensi detection in Cameroon in 2023.

Also, the 2023 budget for the procurement of the next generation mosquito bed nets for Cameroon amounts to about 843 million FCFA.

Since 2017, the US government, through its President’s Malaria Initiative, PMI, has supported Cameroon in the fight against malaria, which activities include research on malaria vectors and monitoring resistance to insecticide by vectors. 

The PMI programme, led by the US Agency for International Development, USAID, is co-implemented with the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC.

The PMI, the Embassy stated, has helped in decreasing child death rates by 35%, through a total investment of over 90 billion FCFA, since 2017.

Intensified efforts to fight against malaria

The US has also reiterated the need to continue and to intensify efforts in vector control, prevention and research to boost the fight against malaria in Cameroon.

“It is crucial to educate communities about the risks associated with vector-borne diseases and promote effective measures to protect ourselves and our loved ones,” the embassy stated.

Meanwhile, PMI’s implementing partner, VectorLink’s recent monitoring results in Cameroon show that there is a change in anopheles mosquito biting behavior.

The change is said to have been recorded in some sentinel sites of the North and Far North Regions, with the malaria-transmitting female anopheles mosquitos changing its behavior from biting between 6 pm and 6 am, to now biting between 6 pm to 10 am.

While calling on the population to sleep under insecticide treated bed nets every night as the main strategy, the embassy stressed that the best way to combat malaria is to combine all strategies. 

Applying indoor residual spraying to prevent mosquito bites early in the morning when outside of the bed net, is also recommended. 

The embassy also expressed the US government’s commitment to working with Cameroon to raise awareness, advocate more funding in research and development, as well as empowering individuals and communities to take action against mosquitoes.

“Together, we can make a significant impact in reducing the global burden of mosquito-borne diseases and create a safer and healthier world for all,” the embassy statement concluded.