The launch of the National Task Force of the National malaria Control Program (NMCP)- Civil Society for malaria Elimination saw the light of day early this week in Yaounde.
The event in Yaounde last Monday 12, July 2021 at Melina Hotel was chaired by Dr. Joel ATEBA, deputy Permanent secretary of the NMCP and was jointly organized by the NMCP, Impact Santé Afrique (ISA); an African NGO with base in Cameroon that has as mission to fight malaria and improve health in communities across Africa, and Civil Society for Malaria Elimination(CS4ME); a global platform working together with well over 15 civil society organizations in Cameroon to end the spread of malaria.
The National Task Force according to Dr. ATEBA, “It is a platform where we can meet together- all the actors of malaria struggle to fight against malaria. It should not only be the affair of the Ministry of Public Health, it should also be the concern of people from other sectors to come together to fight against the sickness.” He continues to say that malaria remains a public health challenger and responsible for about 30% illness cases in hospitals across Cameroon and averagely, 31 people die in Cameroon daily of malaria. (Our readers can see details in our previous article on same subject in June during the launch of the Parliamentarian’s Task force https://awohnews.blogspot.com/2021/06/cameroon-records-73-million-malaria.html)
Looking at the present bad situation, the strategy adopted by the Ministry of Public Health through the NMCP to reduce malaria mortality and mobility by 60% in 2023 Dr. ATEBA says is, “The use of long lasting insecticidal mosquito bed nets (LLINs) that are been given freely to the population though some people don’t put them into good use. We also call on them to go to the hospital when they have fever and symptoms of malaria…”
And following the National Malaria Strategic Plan to be implemented for 4 years (PSNLP 2019-2023), the Government has raised the sum of 132 billion FCFA and to the health experts, 100billion FCFA is still needed for proper mobilization and implementation of the plan.
This therefore means that the National Task Force will have the uphill task to push harder in increasing awareness in communities, communication, and advocacy among others. The Director of ISA, Olivier NGOU underscores their duties in these words, “The Task Force will ensure that communication and sensitization among the population is reinforced at all levels so that all Cameroonians can really be conscious that malaria is a disease that can kill and that it is important to prevent and to treat it correctly. Secondly, to enforce advocacy among leaders for them to invest for malaria elimination to be a reality in the country…”
