Fight against malaria: Ministry scribes strategise to boost multisectoral approach.

With Cameroon amongst the 11 malaria most affected countries in the world, the World Health Organisation, WHO, has recommended a multisectoral approach in fighting malaria.

It was in line with this recommendation that the Ministry of Public Health organised a working session in Yaounde. 

It was organised in collaboration with the National Malaria Control Programme, NMCP, and the international organisation, Impact Santé Afrique, ISA, 

The July 18 meeting dwelled on the national multisectoral framework for malaria control in Cameroon 2024-2028.

Chaired by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Public Health, Prof Louis Richard Njock, the meeting was also attended by parliamentarians, civil society leaders and other key stakeholders. 

Speaking during the meeting, Prof Njock said government aims at reducing the burden of malaria in the country and move towards complete elimination of the disease.

The meeting, he said, was a platform to strategise on how to integrate the fight against malaria into the activities of their respective ministries.

If Cameroon must achieve eradication of malaria, Prof Njock insisted, the Ministry of Public Health alone can’t succeed, thus needs collaboration across sectors.

According to the NMCP Deputy Permanent Secretary, Dr Fosso Jean, recent statistics show that every year the country records at least six million cases of malaria, about 4,000 deaths, and 50% of hospitalisation cases. 

“According to the National Institute of Statistics, in 2022, the prevalence of malaria in Cameroon was at 26%, which is still very high compared with the goal of eliminating malaria. This prevalence should be 1%,” Dr Fosso said, adding that mortality level also dropped from almost 18% to 6.3% between 2019 and 2023. “But this figure of 6.3% is still high compared with the situation of 0 malaria-related deaths,” Dr Fosso insisted.

Some nine SGs of ministries, who took part in the meeting, included Ministries of Tourism and Leisure, Higher Education, Defense, Territorial Administration, Finance, Communication, Labour and Social Security, as well as Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development. 

Complex challenges

According to the Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development, MINEPDED, Prof Paul Tchawa, the challenges of fighting malaria are so complex and requiring a multi-sectoral approach.

“We've seen that there are social, financial, environmental and research dimensions. Naturally, this type of mobilisation needs to be put in place,” he said.

Prof Tchawa added that: “As part of this dynamic, we are planning to draw up a climate plan, and one of its components will naturally focus on this issue. I can also mention our Environmental Awareness and Education sub-directorate, which has a good network in secondary schools”. 

“We have a good network of friends of nature clubs and environmental clubs. I think this is a channel that could usefully be mobilised as part of this fight,” he further explained.

Efforts gaining steam

The Executive Director of Impact Santé Afrique, Olivia Ngou, expressed satisfaction with the multisectoral approach gaining steam.

She said in a bid to reducing and eliminating the malaria burden, a document on the national multi-sectoral framework for malaria control in Cameroon has been drawn up. 

It is structured around four pillars, specifically on political commitment at national and community level to mobilise funding and other necessary resources, the strategic use of information to make decisions and carry out programmatic actions, the choice of the best control policy guidelines, and the coordination of the national response. 

“Today, we have a strategic document that guides the sectors and enables them to understand what activities and interventions each sector can carry out that will make a significant contribution to malaria reduction,” Olivia Ngou told The Guardian Post. 

She added that: “We're delighted to have secured the commitment of several ministries, in particular the Ministry of Education, with whom we'll be working on malaria control programmes in schools. This is because we start raising awareness and educating children at an early age”.  

It is worth noting that Cameroon is the first country in West and Central Africa to have developed and validated a multi-sectoral framework for the fight against malaria, and is the 11th most-affected country in the world. 

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue No:3176 of Monday July 22, 2024