KABUL: Over half of Afghanistan’s estimated 26.6 million population – and especially pregnant women and children - are vulnerable to malaria, according to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH). MoPH says that 14 of the country’s 34 provinces are identified as “high risk” areas where, plasmodium vivax, a malaria parasite, is prevalent. “About 14 million people across the country are at risk of malaria,” Najibullah Safi, programme manager for National Malaria and Leishmaniasis Control (NMLC) at MoPH, said in Kabul.

Landlocked Afghanistan has the second highest number of malaria cases in the Eastern Mediterranean region, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO). The MoPH and WHO estimate that every year up to 1.5 million cases of malaria occur throughout the country, but most go undiagnosed. Figures verified by the Health Ministry indicated that only 433,412 malaria patients received treatment from March 2006 to March 2007.

“Up to 98 percent of malaria cases were plasmodium vivax – a less life-threatening form of the disease - and only two percent were falciform, the most life threatening form of the disease,” Safi said. While malaria kills over one million people in Africa and Asia, according to WHO [], just 25

Weak diagnosing capacity
Only about 20 percent of the total 443,412 patients who received malaria treatment last year were clinically diagnosed malaria-positive, NMLC reported. “About 80 percent of all malaria patients who were treated last year [over 350,000 patients] were suspected cases and were not confirmed through laboratorial tests,” the manager of NMLC said. While malaria treatment is included in MoPH’s basic health services package, which reaches up to 85 percent of the population through 1,429 health facilities nationwide, there are not enough facilities to diagnose the disease.

“We do not have laboratories in all our health facilities in the country and therefore cannot do proper laboratory tests to confirm every suspected malaria case,” Safi said. “It’s a huge problem,” he added. Health specialists warn that any use of anti-malarial drugs such as chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine can badly affect the health of a person not suffering from malaria. “If you give anti-malarial drugs to a pregnant woman or a child it can seriously put their health at risk,” warned Abdul Karim Norzai, a paediatrician in Kabul.

Eradication impossible?

Ranked the fifth least developed country in the world, Afghanistan does not have adequate resources, or the technical capacity to wipe out the parasite in the foreseeable future, health officials say. The country is trying to control malaria within five years (2007-2012) with a US$28.3 million fund from the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

To control the parasite the MoPH plans to distribute 1.2 million insecticide-treated bed nets to vulnerable communities, particularly in high-risk provinces, in 2008. Immunised children and pregnant women will receive bed nets for free, while others will have to pay a subsidised price, MoPH said.

Malaria is a major public health problem in Afghanistan, which not only threatens the health of millions of people but also affects human productivity and development, and traps vulnerable communities in continuing poverty, experts say. Afghanistan is acutely prone to malaria due to its tropical climate, paddy fields, poor waste management and other environmental factors, MoPH said in a statement.

ON WORLD DAY, UNICEF ISSUES CALL TO CURB MALARIA
New York: The United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF is marking World Malaria Day on April 25, 2008 by calling for accelerated efforts to tackle the disease, which kills more than one million people — mostly children — every year. “Malaria is a curable and preventable disease that can be controlled by increasing the use of mosquito nets and other proven interventions, as part of integrated, community-based programmes,” said the agency’s Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. It is a “disease without borders” — the theme of this year’s Day — and is endemic in more than 100 countries and territories. Resources to tackle the scourge have increased significantly in recent years as a result of the efforts of the UN-backed Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; the United States President’s Malaria Initiative; the World Bank; UNICEF; and others.

Most African nations have switched over to the more effective Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) — recommended by the UN World Health Organization WHO – to treat malaria. ACT production has surged from 4 million treatment doses in 2004 to over 100 million in 2006. Ms. Veneman noted that 18 million long-lasting insecticidal nets protecting against malaria have been distributed in Ethiopia since 2005, while 10 million have been delivered in Kenya over the past five years. “These successes show what can be achieved with concerted action,” she said. “But with an estimated 800,000 African children still dying from malaria every year, it is clear that much remains to be done.” One decade after UNICEF, the WHO and their partners launched the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) initiative, malaria — claiming the lives of some 3,000 children daily — is still the single largest killer of Africa children. To control the disease globally, it will cost approximately $3.2 billion, and through increased public and private commitments and partnerships, RBM has raised $1 billion to date.

UNICEF appealed for bolstered interventions — including sustained financing, community involvement and leadership as well as enhanced global, regional and national partnerships — to control the disease. Yesterday, the agency announced a partnership with religious, business and sports leaders to supply insecticide-treated bed nets for Africa. “Nothing But Nets,” a grassroots campaign created in 2006 by the UN Foundation (UNF) to raise awareness about malaria, helps fund the distribution of life-saving bed nets. It “is an important initiative that will help build on successes in addressing malaria and accelerate results for children,” Ms. Veneman said at a news conference at UN Headquarters. “Our results will be measured in lives saved and in lives improved.”-UN News Service

Here is an important link about the questions arises about what Malaria is.

International Day for Sharing Life Stories is celebrated on May 16th 2008. The day is a unique opportunity for people around the world to gather in community halls, classrooms, public parks, theaters, auditoriums, as well as websites, email exchanges, Google groups and virtual environments to hear each other’s stories.

Pakistan Times wants this day to be especially dedicated to celebrating and promoting Life Story projects that have made a difference within neighborhoods, communities, and societies as a whole. It is a day to celebrate everyone’s commitment.

New York: Bookshops, libraries, schools, publishers, authors’ societies and cultural institutions in more than 100 countries have held several events on April 23, 2008 to mark the annual Book and Copyright Day, designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to celebrate the enduring value of the written word. This year’s Day focuses on the linguistic aspect of publishing, a theme that coincides with 2008 being proclaimed by the General Assembly as the International Year of Languages.

In a message to mark the Day, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura warned that “when a language has no access to the world of publishing, it is excluded – together with those who speak it – from a significant part of the intellectual life and economic activity of society.” Mr. Matsuura added that “in this context, it is then a matter of urgency to give languages broader access to publishing, so as to promote the exchange of books and editorial content.” Today, Amsterdam succeeds Bogotá as World Book Capital City, a designation introduced by UNESCO in 2001 to promote books. The Dutch city is planning to hold many events over the next 12 months to celebrate literature.

The title-holder is chosen by representatives of UNESCO, the International Publishers Association, the International Booksellers Federation and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, and previous recipients include Madrid, Alexandria, New Delhi, Antwerp, Montreal and Bogotá. Beirut has been selected to succeed Amsterdam in 2009 and the nominations for 2010 – a decision will be made in June – are Guadalajara, Lisbon, Ljubljana, Riga, Saint Petersburg, Vienna and Wellington. UNESCO chose 23 April for World Book and Copyright Day because it is the day in 1616 when the United Kingdom’s William Shakespeare, Spain’s Miguel de Cervantes and Peru’s “El Inca” Garcilaso de la Vega all died. The prominent writers Vladimir Nabokov, Halldor Laxness, Josep Pla, Maurice Druon and Manuel Mejía Vallejo were also either born or died on this day.-UN News Service

ISLAMABAD: Earth day to be observed on Wednesday April 22, 2008. The first annual Earth Day was celebrated in 1970, and was founded by Senator Gaylord Nelson to be a day for all communities around the world to renew their commitment to making the world a cleaner, safer and healthier place for everyone.

Following the northern hemisphere’s rejuvenating Spring equinox, and as the motivating Sun forms a supportive trine with earthy Taurus, this is the perfect moment to embrace your responsibility to your community and planet by getting involved in making this world a better place for years to come.

U.S Embassy Holds Photographic Contest to Mark Earth Day
ISLAMABAD: The U.S. Embassy, in association with Pakistan Institute for Environmental Development and Research (PIEDAR), opened an exhibit today of selected photographs from a nationwide photography contest for school children to observe the Earth Day with the theme of “Earth, My Home.”

“In the United States, children who learned in school about preserving the environment became the leaders in promotion of recycling, planting trees, saving water, and other conservation measures,” the U.S. Embassy’s Counselor for Public Affairs Kay Webb Mayfield said while addressing the participants. “Students can still lead the way, teaching their families about what each of us can do to protect our natural resources.”

Earth Day began in the United States on April 22, 1970. The idea came from U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, who was concerned about protecting the environment. In the 38 years since then, Earth Day has become a global celebration and is currently observed in more than 140 countries around the world. The day aims to inspire awareness of and appreciation for earth’s environment.

Some 60 schools from Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Kabirwala, and FATA participated in the competition held on the topic of “Conservation of Environment.” The U.S. Embassy’s Counselor for Public Affairs, Kay Webb Mayfield, presented prizes and certificates to the winning student photographers.

ISLAMABAD: The UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon has said in a message on the World Health Day 2008 that climate change was posing serious threat to human lives and the world should act to protect the most vulnerable in this regard. “Climate change is sometimes debated as if it affected only the planet, and not the people living on it. This year’s World Health Day is an opportunity to broaden this view by spotlighting the major health threats we face as a result of global warming,” the messaged said.

Climate change endangers the quality and availability of water and food, our fundamental determinants of nutrition and health. It is causing more frequent and more severe storms, heat waves, droughts and floods, while worsening the quality of our air. The result is an upsurge in human suffering caused by injury, disease, malnutrition and death, the UN chief added. “We need to give voice to this often-overlooked reality, ensuring that protecting human health is anchored at the heart of the global climate change agenda,” he said.

The impact will be most severe in poor countries, which have contributed least to this global crisis. By 2020, up to a quarter of a billion Africans will experience increased water stress, and crop yields in some African countries are expected to drop by half, he added. Malnutrition and climate-related infectious diseases will take their heaviest toll on the most vulnerable: small children, the elderly and the infirm. Women living in poverty face particular risk when natural disasters and other global-warming related dangers strike.

“We must do more than decry these circumstances. We must act to ensure that the health of the vulnerable is protected during climate change. This means stepping up efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals, from cutting childhood mortality to empowering women, as a central component of the international response to climate change.”“World Health Day challenges us to join forces in the great effort to combat climate change, for the sake of our planet and all of its inhabitants”, he said