War on Malaria Dependent on Aid
War on Malaria Dependent on Aid
External financial support to help Kyrgyzstan fight malaria will end in 2010. NBCentralAsia experts say that the disease may spread if the government does not start preparing to bridge the funding gap soon.
On July 26, the state disease control service announced that 49 people in the capital Bishkek had contracted malaria.
Last year, 75 cases were registered in the southern town of Tashkumyr. The last major outbreak of the disease was in 2002, when 2,774 cases were recorded, mainly in the south of the country.
In May 2006, the government approved a national strategy for fighting malaria in 2006-2010 under which the health ministry and local authorities along with the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria are offering diagnosis and treatment, mosquito control, medical staff training, information and education campaigns.
Nurbolot Usenbaev, head of the Global Fund’s malaria control project in Kyrgyzstan, explained it is paying for 80 per cent of activities within the national anti-malaria plan, while local contributions account for a very low percentage.
“Without help from donor organisations, the malaria situation would be much more complicated than it is now,” he said.
Malaria is a social disease, so local authorities, the media and non government organisations should all take an active role in preventing it, he said. For example, a play was staged in southern Tajikistan this year to increase public awareness of the threat of infection and ways of combating the disease.
Abdykalyk Nazarov, head of Jalalabad region’s hygiene control service, says the state is not allocating enough money for malaria prevention to allow it to tackle the disease without outside help. The local government budget for malaria prevention in Jalalabad region is just 35,000 soms, or around 950 US dollars for this year.
The Global Fund’s support programme ends in two years’ time and Nazarov warns that “the malaria situation may get worse if the state budget does not start assigning funds for disease prevention”.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
On July 26, the state disease control service announced that 49 people in the capital Bishkek had contracted malaria.
Last year, 75 cases were registered in the southern town of Tashkumyr. The last major outbreak of the disease was in 2002, when 2,774 cases were recorded, mainly in the south of the country.
In May 2006, the government approved a national strategy for fighting malaria in 2006-2010 under which the health ministry and local authorities along with the Global Fund for AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria are offering diagnosis and treatment, mosquito control, medical staff training, information and education campaigns.
Nurbolot Usenbaev, head of the Global Fund’s malaria control project in Kyrgyzstan, explained it is paying for 80 per cent of activities within the national anti-malaria plan, while local contributions account for a very low percentage.
“Without help from donor organisations, the malaria situation would be much more complicated than it is now,” he said.
Malaria is a social disease, so local authorities, the media and non government organisations should all take an active role in preventing it, he said. For example, a play was staged in southern Tajikistan this year to increase public awareness of the threat of infection and ways of combating the disease.
Abdykalyk Nazarov, head of Jalalabad region’s hygiene control service, says the state is not allocating enough money for malaria prevention to allow it to tackle the disease without outside help. The local government budget for malaria prevention in Jalalabad region is just 35,000 soms, or around 950 US dollars for this year.
The Global Fund’s support programme ends in two years’ time and Nazarov warns that “the malaria situation may get worse if the state budget does not start assigning funds for disease prevention”.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
