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Groups request expedite action to save lives from Malaria, COVID-19

By Geraldine Akutu
26 April 2020   |   3:55 am
As the world grapples with COVID-19 pandemic, the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, along with global and regional partners, including World Health Organisation...

As the world grapples with COVID-19 pandemic, the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, along with global and regional partners, including World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, has urged leaders of malaria infected countries to take advantage of the critical window of opportunity they now have, before the rainy season, to save lives and prevent over-burdening health systems.
 
Chief Executive Officer of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, Dr. Abdourahmane Diallo said: “As COVID-19 spreads across the globe, we must ensure that efforts to contain the virus do not compromise access to life-saving malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment services. In 2018, investments in the malaria fight saved almost 600,000 lives and prevented nearly 100 million new infections each year compared to 2000 levels.”

He argued that diverting the fund or placing a hold on malaria interventions that could be safely carried out now could see an exponential increase in deaths from malaria this year.

“In the face of COVID-19, countries must act now to save lives, protect hard-fought progress, and strengthen health systems—our first line of defence against existing and emerging threats to public health.

“Early diagnosis and treatment of malaria at the community level is vital to preventing cases from becoming severe, which often require hospitalisation and lead to death,” he said.

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