Malaria | Collaborative Approach Needed To Fight Malaria, Zambezi Expedition Leaders Say at Conclusion of Journey

June 4, 2008

Countries should work together to eliminate malaria, expedition leaders from the Roll Back Malaria Partnership Zambezi expedition said on Tuesday, the AP/CNN.com reports. Leaders recently concluded the expedition, which followed the river 1,800 miles through six countries in Southern Africa (AP/CNN.com, 6/3). The nine-week campaign aimed to highlight the experiences of people who contract malaria in the region. A team of medical workers and other volunteers distributed insecticide-treated nets and artemisinin-based combination therapies to malaria-endemic communities (Tau, Star, 6/4). According to expedition members, many villagers along the river need to travel long distances in order to get to the closest medical facility. Limited access to health care and a lack of regional cooperation are hindering malaria control efforts, they said. The groups traveled through Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe using inflatable boats. They said that Zimbabwe was best positioned to fight the disease and that some people in western Angola had to travel about 40 miles to receive health care. The expedition leaders said that they hope their journey will raise money for a trans-Zambezi project to fight malaria. Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe have developed a joint plan to fight the disease, but the plan still requires funding. "There are no borders for malaria," Herve Verhoosel, an expedition manager said, adding, "Mosquitoes don't get their passports stamped at the other side of the border." Helge Bendl, the expedition leader, said, "People in these areas know about malaria. They know what they have to do to fight it. They just don't have the necessary means" (AP/CNN.com, 6/3).