BOBONONG, - The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has a goal to eliminate malaria in the region by 2015, hence member states are urged to consolidate their malaria control and intervention programmes.

Giving a keynote address at the commemoration of SADC Malaria Day at Semolale in the Bobirwa Sub District recently, Bobonong East councilor, Mr Calvin Sekwababe said it was important to review progress towards attaining the goal.

"This year's theme 'Counting Malaria out!' and the slogan 'kick Malaria out: Act Now!' highlight the importance of tracking progress along the way as we join forces to attain the SADC goal," Mr Sekwababe said.

Speaking on behalf of Bobirwa MP, Mr Shaw Kgathi, the councilor said it was incumbent upon the region to act decisively.

"The slogan and theme calls for immediate action by all member states to put in place strategies that will help them attain universal coverage of all key interventions by 2010," he said.

However, Mr Sekwababe was pleased to point out that Botswana had made great headway in the struggle against malaria, one of the world's foremost killers.

"In Botswana, control measures against this deadly disease date back to the 1950s and to date some degree of success has been achieved over the years.

In 2000, 71 555 suspected malaria cases were reported to health authorities but by 2008 the number of reported suspected malaria cases had gone down to 17 886. In 2005 the rate of suspected cases per 1 000 population was 10, dropping to seven per 1 000 population by 2008. This progressive reduction in the burden of malaria led to our inclusion in the four front line states that were targeted for elimination by 2015," he said.

Mr Sekwababe pointed out that while progress had been made at national level, there was still headway to be made in some districts.

These include Bobirwa, where good progress in reducing the disease burden from the 2000 level could not be sustained.

"Malaria transmission in this district is still characterised by outbreaks erupting from all over the district. Available data demonstrates that in 2000 Bobirwa reported 2 522 malaria cases and by 2005 the figure had gone down to 116. This achievement was short-lived because in 2006 the district experienced a setback when it recorded 471 cases and 1 535 in 2008," Mr Sekwababe said. He added that there were concerted efforts by the Bobirwa sub-district Council Health Department to implement malaria control measures to protect communities against the disease.

Another speaker, Dr Ronald Ncube from the Ministry of Health said communities played a pivotal role in combating the illness. However, "it is regrettable to learn that we still have members in our communities who uphold religious beliefs that discourage members from seeking healthcare from clinics and hospitals," something he felt was detrimental to progress against Malaria. He said that in 2006, 250 million malaria cases were reported worldwide, claiming a million lives in that year.

"Africa continues to bear the brunt of the scourge as 86 per cent of cases reported in 2006 were from the continent. Among the deaths reported in 2006, regrettably, 91 per cent were in Africa, and 83 per cent were of children under the age of five," lamented Dr Ncube.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) National Professional Officer (Malaria) Ms Kentse Moakofhi, speaking on behalf of WHO Country Representative, Dr Eugene Nyarko pointed out that southern African states enjoyed high political support in malaria prevention programmes.

She said SADC governments' efforts made it easier for the United Nations anti-malaria efforts in the region. BOPA