At opening of Malaria Ministerial Conference in Yaounde: PM reaffirms gov’t’s commitment to curb burden on vulnerable groups.

The Prime Minister, Head of Government, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, made the pledge while opening the Malaria Ministerial Conference on behalf of the President of the Republic, Paul Biya, in Yaounde Wednesday. 

The conference which brought together health ministers from some 12 countries most affected by the malaria disease, was organised by the World Health Organisation, WHO, at the Yaounde Conference Centre.

It was placed under the theme: “Tackling malaria in countries hardest hit by the disease”. 

The gathering, which was also attended by international stakeholders, was aimed at reviewing the progress and challenges faced in reducing the cases of malaria, discuss strategies and funding mechanisms to reduce malaria mortality in Africa.

It was also geared towards establishing a roadmap to increase political commitment in malaria control. 

While reassuring government’s determination to curbing the disease, the Prime Minister, in his keynote address, outlined the milestone covered by the government Cameroon in controlling the disease.

He mentioned free distribution of mosquito bed nets, free treatment of infants and intermittent treatment of pregnant women. 

“Cameroon the host of today’s ministerial conference on malaria wishes to solemnly reaffirm its commitment to rolling back the burden of malaria on our population,” Chief Dr Dion Ngute declared. 

He added that: “Efforts made by our country have led to a significant reduction in the mortality rate reported by health facilities, decreasing from 15.5% in 2015 to 9% in 2022 and further to 6.3% in 2023 as per 100,000 people at risk”. 

Critical need to intensify fight

According to the Prime Minister, despite the positive trends in combating the disease in Cameroon, vigilance must be the watchword for all stakeholders.

“While these results are encouraging, they underscore the need for more vigilance especially in light of the increasing trend in reported malaria cases,” he said. 

He added that: “The number of confirmed cases per 1,000 people at risk, rose from 81 to 106 between 2015 and 2023. Cameroon remains one of the countries most affected by malaria, therefore there is a critical need to intensify the fight to make significant progress in eliminating this disease”. 

He equally assured that government remains attentive to new methods in combatting the disease. 

WHO lauds Cameroon for efforts made

In a video recorded message, the Director General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, congratulated Cameroon for her efforts made in curbing malaria, especially with the introduction of malaria vaccine in her routine vaccination programme.

He also encouraged other countries to redouble their efforts towards eradicating malaria like Algeria, Seychelles, Mauritius, Lesotho and Cabo Verde that was recently declared malaria-free status. 

On his part, the WHO Country Representative for Cameroon, Dr Phanuel Habimana, said the use of bed nets, free treatment of pregnant women and children, and the putting in place of the malaria vaccine are amongst strategies to combat malaria recommended by WHO for all countries. 

“These are the engagement given to the countries as well as increasing the resources for health because in most of our countries, the malaria programmes barely have half of the resources needed for the implementation of interventions. So it’s a high-level political commitment and financial commitment that we expect,” Dr Habimana said. 

In the different speeches made at the opening, officials from La Francophonie, Africa Centre for Disease Control, the African Union and the WHO, lamented that COVID-19, economic hardship, climate change and humanitarian crisis like conflicts, malnutrition and flooding, have reduced the global commitment against malaria. 

They mentioned that it is time to change the story and increase commitment in fighting malaria and to avoid preventable deaths on the continent.

It is worth noting that in 2022 alone, about 166 million cases were detected in 12 of the hardest hit countries, including Cameroon, resulting to 423,000 deaths, according to the World Malaria Report. 

With a targets of the WHO’s Global Technical Strategy, GTS for malaria aims at reducing the malaria cases and death by 90% as well as eliminating malaria in at least 35 countries by 2030, experts say it is crucial to remobilise efforts towards attaining the objectives.