On World Mosquito Day, the U.S. Government says it has reached 570 million people in 24 “malaria endemic” countries with malaria treatment and prevention services.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on its official Twitter handle on Monday, August 20, 2018 stated that it had been able to reach countries through the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI).

Using the #WorldMosquitoDay hashtag, the USAID added that malaria “is the leading cause of death in children under five years old.

“In sub-Saharan Africa, malaria is the leading cause of death in children under five years old.

“The PMI and partners have reached 570 million people in 24 malaria endemic countries with malaria treatment and prevention services.”

USAID also noted that, through the PMI, more than 268 million insecticide-treated nets had been distributed in 27 countries since 2005.

The agency added that treated bed nets were responsible for two-thirds of the seven million lives saved between 2000 and 2015 worldwide.

“We look for these numbers to climb as more people get nets and net technology continues to advance.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that mosquitoes kill about 445,000 people each year, through the transmission of malaria.

The PMI report stated that some estimates showed that eliminating malaria could save 11 million lives and yield an estimated $2 trillion in economic benefits from gains in productivity and health savings.

“The last decade has brought a number of advances in fighting malaria-carrying mosquitoes, including long-lasting insecticide treated nets and new insecticides for indoor residual spraying.

“New uses of technology, such as mobile phones and internet, can enhance timeliness and quality of relevant data and improve decision-making.

“In the coming years, we anticipate innovations in insecticides and a possible malaria vaccine,” the report stated.

Also, in its 12th Annual Report to the US Congress, released in April 2018, it stated that malaria remained a major public health challenge, despite the progress recorded in malaria interventions.

It added that the challenge could slow down progress made.

“Malaria prevention and control remains an important U.S. foreign assistance priority.

“Foreign assistance investments by the U.S. Government empower people, communities, and economies to progress on the path to self-reliance, and malaria interventions are among the most cost-effective.”

NAN reports that the PMI and other global partners have continually supported governments to prevent malaria mortality, morbidity and ensuring its elimination through a five-year strategy.

The strategy, which spans 2015 till 2020, aims at creating a world without malaria.

World Mosquito Day, observed annually on 20 August, is a commemoration of Sir Ronald Ross’ discovery in 1897 that female mosquitoes transmit malaria between humans.

Ross is responsible for the annual observance, having declared shortly after his discovery that the day should be known as World Mosquito Day in the future.

By Temitope Ponle

The Women-for-Women Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation, on Sunday, August 19, 2018 began the sensitisation of Almajiris and other destitutes in Kaduna on ways to prevent malaria and other diseases caused by an unclean environment.

Chairperson of the foundation, Dr Maryam Abubakar, said the campaign was part of activities designed by the organisation to mark the 2018 World Mosquito Day.

She said that the focus was on the poor, who are prone to all forms of diseases due to their poor economic status and inability to properly safeguard their health.

Abubakar stressed that once people are knowledgeable about preventive measures, it would be easier for them avoid situations that would make them victims of mosquito bites and malaria.

According to her, malaria remains a major health problem in Nigeria and causes death and illness in children and adults, especially pregnant women.

“This is also a way to see how they can contribute toward raising awareness to other children, in order to prevent them against all forms of diseases associated with mosquito,” she said.

Abubakar, who is also the Medical Director, Fatimah Clinic in Kaduna, said the fight against malaria in Nigeria requires collective action including awareness of where mosquitoes breed, feed, host and where they rest in order to design appropriate control measures.

She noted that hundreds of Nigerian children and women die annually from malaria caused by mosquito bite, but said continued intervention by UNICEF, WHO, Federal Government and other humanitarian organisations have reduced the threat.

Mohammed Zakariyya, Director, African Climate Reporters, said in his comments at the event that the measure taken by the foundation was novel as it targeted the most vulnerable in the society to impart knowledge to them on protection against malaria.

According to him, malaria remains a major public health problem in the country causing deaths and illnesses in children and adults. He tasked the Ministry of Environment to double its efforts in tackling environmental issues breeding mosquitoes.

Observed annually on August 20, the World Mosquito Day is a commemoration of British doctor Sir Ronald Ross‘s discovery in 1897 that female mosquitoes transmit malaria between humans. Ross is responsible for the annual observance, having declared shortly after his discovery that the day should be known as World Mosquito Day in the future.

At the recently held Africa Reporters Workshop on Harm Reduction held in Johannesburg, South Africa, Alessandro Maria Poggiali, Vice President, Corporate Affairs EEMA and Duty Free at Philip Morris International (PMI), told EnviroNews that, for those who continue to go for tobacco, the e-cigarette or smokeless cigarette is the better alternative in terms of harm reduction to health and the environment

Media executives across Africa are gathered here to deliberate on issues related to harm reduction in tobacco use. What sort of engagement would you like to see from them vis-à-vis this campaign?

We have embarked on a great journey. We want to transform ourselves and the industry by offering consumers better alternatives to smoking, and I think the media have a very important role to play. Our job is to inform the consumer, inform the authorities, and inform the media. Overall, we have a role in making the consumers aware of what is going on.

In terms of the alternatives to smoking, how well have you been able to take them across the continent and beyond?

We have launched these products including our flagship product iQos e-cigarette in more than 38 countries all over the world in the last two years, and that’s an incredibly exciting moment for us because we have already such a limited time span.

More than five million smokers will decide to go for a better alternative and, in Africa, I’m very proud that the first African country which launched the iQos is South Africa. Similarly, we launched in Palestine in the Middle East region, and we are very happy for the reaction of consumers. And definitely it’s a better alternative for those who continue to go for tobacco.

A source of concern is that these alternatives appear to be out of the reach of the ordinary people. How affordable are these alternatives?

Those product pricing is normally paramentalised to the product pricing worldwide. There is a great difference in the market and the country and we have that point very much in mind. Our scientific and developmental effort has produced a different number of platforms to meet the different consumer needs and demands. So, we are confident we will have the right option for every type of consumer and eagerly here in South Africa, I will like one day to see South Africa becoming a smoke-free country.

Do you think that these alternatives can lead to a healthy and safer environment?

We believe that those are better for the consumer, better for the society, and better for those who are around the consumer; the millions of men and women who smoke, and their family and their friends who are around them. So, those are definitely better alternatives.

You said you’ve launched in South Africa. What plans do you have for other parts of Africa?

Our goal is to make this product available to all smokers all over the world, and it’s a strong commitment that our CEO has taken. Clearly, we are starting with our existing consumer base, and eagerly we will like to make this product available everywhere.

The Eighth Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP8) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) is two months away. Taking place in Geneva, Switzerland from October 1 to 6, 2018, it will focus on topics such as the shaping of a medium-term strategic framework, which will determine the actions to be taken by the Parties over the next five years, and the advances and challenges revealed in the Global Progress Report on Implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

The conference will also be the starting point for a wider application of the WHO FCTC not only for tobacco control, but also as an international treaty to support sustainable development, fight climate change and defend human rights.

Indeed, various steps in the production and disposal of tobacco products harm the environment and contribute to global warming. Parties have engaged in promoting sustainability what has prompted UN member states to include the WHO FCTC as a target in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Tobacco harm reduction can accelerate the achievement of some of the SDGs. The most immediately relevant are the following:

• Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
• Goal 12: Ensure sustainable production and consumption patterns.
• Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
• Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
• Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Vaping products are playing a huge role in achieving SDG 13,14 and 15. We all know that cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world. Over 4.5 trillion cigarettes are littered worldwide each year. Smoking is costly to our environment. Littered cigarette butts leach toxic chemicals into the environment and can contaminate water. The toxic exposure can poison fish, as well as animals who eat cigarette butts. The plastic fibers in cigarettes are non-biodegradable, meaning they won’t organically break down from living organisms. Once vaping products phase out traditional cigarettes we will see a welcomed improvement of the climate.

Since E cigarettes are an aid in smoking cessation, harm reduction can help in achieving SDG 3. If by 2030, we are to “reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment”, tobacco harm reduction should definitely be on the agenda. Tobacco related diseases are responsible for killing up to 7 million people every year. With harm reduction products like e-cigarettes being at least 95% safer than cigarettes, they should be encouraged.

A multi-pronged approach to tobacco harm reduction in the low-and middle-income countries of sub-Saharan Africa, that incorporates both tobacco consumption and production, is needed. Harm reduction has multiple benefits for the smoker, non-smoker, economy and environment as well. It is high time WHO FCTC embraced harm reduction in the fight against smoking.

By Joseph Magero (Director, Campaign for Safer Alternatives)