Fighting Malaria through regional partnership
By NDUBI MVULA"THE ambitious river expedition will bring home the need for a strong regional partnership to fight Malaria," says Dr. Awa-Marie Coll-Seck, the Executive Director of Roll Back Malaria Partnership.
"An effective cross-border collaboration which mobilises communities in all six countries and has strong political backing is a recipe for success."
Success has to be the cornerstone of this expedition especially that it borders on the preservation of human life.
With this thought in mind came the birth of what is called the Roll Back Malaria Zambezi Expedition, which started on March 29, 2008 from the source of the Zambezi River in North Western province and is expected to reach the Zambezi delta in Mozambique by May 31, 2008.
It is under the umbrella name of "Fighting Malaria on the "River of Life."
The Zambezi, lifeline of southern Africa, currently is the setting of a dramatic health project.
On March 29 2008, the Roll Back Malaria Zambezi Expedition was launched into a two months voyage to showcase successes and highlight challenges associated with the fight against one of the globe's leading infectious killers.
Despite both being preventable and curable, between one and three million people die of Malaria each year – while a child dies every 30 seconds in Africa.
Starting at the source of the river and finishing in its delta, medical teams will travel more than 2,500 kilometres (1,550 miles) in inflatable boats through Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
By exposing the difficulties of delivering mosquito nets and medications to remote areas, the Zambezi Expedition will demonstrate that only a coordinated cross-border action can force the disease to recoil and turn the lifeline of southern Africa into a "River of Life" for those threatened by Malaria.
And to highlight the fight, the international media will put the fight against Malaria on their agenda over the next months.
This became evident at a media briefing in Johannesburg where the Zambezi Expedition was presented to journalists and foreign correspondents based in South Africa.
Among the media that have already reported or want to report about the Zambezi Expedition are Al Jazeera International, AFP, ARD German TV, ARD German Radio, BBC World Service, Channel Africa, DW TV, DPA, Reuters TV, SABC Africa, SABC and Xinhua.
"Malaria imposes a crushing burden on Africa both in human and economic terms", said Roll Back Malaria's Project Manager Hervé Verhoosel. "Yet countries bordering the Zambezi are ready to take on this challenge."
Five countries in the region have developed a joint action plan and a proposal for increased coverage of populations at risk.
"The Zambezi Expedition will enable journalists to tell the story of remote populations at the water's edge who are anxious to receive protective treated nets and malaria treatments", Co-Expedition Leader Helge Bendl explained.
"Our crew will pick up teams of media, medical personnel and staff of the national Malaria programme in each country and visit river communities, diagnose malaria cases and deliver life-saving interventions."
And in the quest to demonstrate the much needed political will and support from the Governments in the region, Zambia's Heath Minister Dr Brian Chituwo who is also Chairperson of the SADC Ministers of Health, opened the recent coordination meeting for the Zambezi Expedition.
"The Zambezi Expedition has come at an opportune time to raise awareness on Malaria and will help to contribute to the scaling up of Malaria interventions and the eradication of the disease", Dr Chituwo said.
From January 21-24, National Malaria Control Programme managers of countries along the Zambezi met with representatives of Southern African Development Community (SADC) Military Health Services, United Nations agencies and NGOs at Chrisma Hotel in Livingstone, Zambia, to elaborate the roles and responsibilities for partners involved in the Zambezi Expedition.
Mr Bendl and Logistics Chief Andrew Weinberg mapped the project for participating countries.
Discussions covered stopping points along the river and the logistics needed to bring health teams and journalists to the Zambezi, and the representatives planned media events at the launch and on World Malaria Day (April 25) as well as local press conferences in the participating countries.
According to the Zambezi Expedition website, three customised rigid inflatable expedition boats donated by Zodiac have left the port of Hamburg, Germany, on board the MV Green Cape bound for Cape Town, South Africa.
Upon arrival in mid-February, the expedition equipment will be transported overland to the source of the Zambezi river in Northwestern Zambia.
MV Green Cape, a 177 metre long ship with a capacity of 1,200 twenty-foot containers, is sailing for MACS Maritime Carrier, a family-owned enterprise based in Hamburg and Cape Town, specialised in container transport between Europe and Africa.
MACS has a growing fleet of multipurpose vessels capable of handling every type of cargo and containers. No other carrier between Europe and Southern Africa offers such flexibility.
MACS is shipping and handling the expedition boats and additional equipment free of charge and has been one of the early supporters of the Zambezi Expedition.
The Roll Back Malaria Zambezi Expedition is being sponsored by Coca Cola Africa Foundation, ExxonMobil, MACEPA, Medicines for Malaria Venture, Nets for Life, Novartis, Malaria No More, Sumitomo Chemical, UN Foundation, and Vestergaard-Frandsen.
The battle is on and let us work together and fight this scourge, which has and continues to claim so many lives within society.
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