Malaria , the ‘King of Diseases’, is re-emerging as world’s number one killer infection (Pharmanews, January, 2009) and it has been a big threat to the African continent and other parts of the world. It kills millions of people ranging from pregnant women, children and others to the extent now it is regarded as Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) in Africa, for according to World Health Organization (WHO) it kills in every 30 seconds.
It is reported that malaria (notified cases) in 2000 in Nigeria was about 2.4million. The disease, account for 25% of infant mortality and 30% of childhood mortality in Nigeria, (Guardian April 25, 2008).
Because of its importance, African leaders had to meet in Abuja in April 2000 in what was called 'African summit on Roll back Malaria' to discuss on how to end the disease, and even at world level, 193 nations met in May 2007 and considered latest report on Malaria, and agreed to create a special day [25th April each year] for the disease, which, despite its consequences, little is known and done about it.
Malaria impedes human development, as its cause underdevelopment of nations, by making them to lose billions of dollars from cost of treatment, absenteeism from schools, farms and work.
Malaria probably competes with poverty, irrational planning, corruption, and criminal mismanagement by local, state and federal governments in destroying the economy. Equally, it is implicated in the reduction of human work capacity and productivity of all sectors of the economy, (Pharmanews January 2008).
Recently, Tribune newspaper May 2, 2012 quoted minister of health saying Nigeria has the highest cases of malaria in the world, also Business Day, 18 December, 2012 quoted WHO saying Nigeria is among the endemic countries that accounts for 80% malaria death annually.
Malaria is the most important disease of man. In Owerri (Nigeria), malaria still account for over 70% of all clinical cases with the highest burden on children and pregnant women. The sustenance of this major public health disease has been attributed to vectorial abundance, susceptibility of the human host, poor environmental sanitation, genomics, lack of competent healthcare providers, poor health care system, etc.
Based on the above, the Centre for Women, Gender and Developmental Studies (CWGDS), Office of the Vice Chancellor, under distinguish headship of Dr [Mrs.] Ihuoma P. Asiabaka and the Institute of Environmental Health Technology (IEHT, the first of its kind in West Africa), led by erudite scholar, Prof. Amadi A. N, are organizing a 3 day workshop titled ‘Roll on, Roll Back Malaria’.
The workshop will digest on how and why malaria mortality is still high, and spending money on its treatment in increasing geometrically with little or no progress, and the way out.
The sub themes include the following:
. Malaria vector control
. Malaria control in Nigeria
. Community base malaria treatment
. Women in Malaria control
. Politics of Malaria control
. Economics of malaria control and treatment
. Malaria chemotherapy
. Monitoring and evaluation in malaria control
. Malaria genomic
The conference is schedule to hold from 20-23 May, 2013 Venue: at the 1000 ultra-modern capacity theatre lecture hall at the Federal University of Technology Owerri, (FUTO).
