posted Jun 8, 2009 7:00 AM by Unknown user
On
July 16, 1969 Commander Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the
moon. At that time he made the statement "one small step for man,
one giant leap for mankind"
On
May 25, 1961 President John F. Kennedy of United States announced his support
for the Apollo program with the goal of landing men on the moon by the end of
1969. This objective was met with 6 months to spare.
This
seemingly impossible feat was accomplished only because the leader of the
Country made it a matter of priority, the landing of a man on the moon.
At the time it seemed that President Kennedy had taken leave of his
senses. In spite of the nay sayers this goal was met within the allotted
time frame of eight years.
What
I would like to propose at this time is establishing the goal of eliminating
malaria in Ghana
within 3 years. This is a more achievable objective than sending a man to
the moon. The reason, it has already been done in the United States,
the Country that sent Commander Neil Armstrong to the moon. Perhaps we
should take a page out of their play book on this one. First of all, the
Americans did not waste any time or national treasure treating the
symptoms. They attacked the cause. The cause of malaria is not the
malaria parasite, it is the mosquito. Removing the mosquito from the
environment will eliminate malaria. When you break the transmission
cycle, the malaria parasite present in the human population will be expelled
from the body within about two years. The method used by the Americans to
eliminate malaria was a massive aerial application program. This method
achieved the objective of dramatically decimating the mosquito population as to
destroy its ability to maintain the transmission cycle. It has been some
60 years now since the United
States was declared malaria free and it
continues to be malaria free until this day.
At
present here in Ghana
and most African countries, there is a policy of treating the symptoms of
malaria, with prophylactic pills, bed nets and indoor residual spraying.
The marginal effect of this reactive policy only institutionalizes
failure. Meanwhile, our country continues to sacrifice its most precious
resource on the altar of malaria, its children and young mothers. In
developed countries disease and death affects the old and consumes perhaps 90%
of the national medical resources, treating it's citizens with expensive
medications and operations for the last 10% of their life span. However
the average life span is twice as long as in the developing nations.
In
Ghana
the death rates are much higher in the young, than the old. This is neither
a natural nor an acceptable outcome. This is the reason for an average life
expectancy of only 40 or 50 years.
The
annual expenditure of 100 million dollars now dedicated to treating the
symptoms of malaria in Ghana
is perhaps 10 times more than is necessary to eradicate this disease.
However over the past several years the problem only gets worse, in spite of
grand statements to the contrary. One definition of insanity is the
expectation of a different outcome, each time you perform the same
act. I can only conclude that the institutions charged with dealing
with this problem are certifiably NUTS!
What
I would like to propose is a pilot program to eliminate malaria from the City
of Accra, with the goal of making Accra the first malaria free City in Sub Saharan Africa,
employing the same methods used to achieve success in the United States
some 60 years ago. A successful outcome of such a program will have a
more far reaching impact than the Apollo program, in that it will serve a
humanitarian objective of saving lives, the most precious lives, that of the
young.
With
this thought in mind, if Ghana government or corporate Ghana will not come
together to fund such a project, perhaps the funding source should logically be the PMI or
Presidents Malaria Initiative that has dedicated some 17.3 million dollars for
malaria in Ghana
this year alone. All that would be necessary is 3 million dollars to
eliminate malaria for one year in the City of Accra, a City that contains 10% of our
population. They can use the rest of the funding to satisfy their bed
nets spree.
At
this time I would like to ask anyone that has an opportunity to gain the ear of
President Obama on his trip to Ghana this coming July to make mention of this
proposal for 3 million dollars for this pilot program. If you live in Accra like me, you will be
doing yourself a favor. Hayford
Siaw
Executive
Director, Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa
(VPWA) |
posted May 26, 2009 6:58 AM by Unknown user
posted May 25, 2009 12:14 AM by VPWA Ghana
The World
Health Organization on October 30, 1998, announced the creation of an
affiliated organization, that was named, Roll Back Malaria. The
reduction of malaria in Africa by 50% within 10 years was the stated
goal of this new organization.
Dr. Donald Roberts, Ph.D, an
entomologist, Professor of Tropical Public Health at the Uniformed
Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland,
stated, "The Roll Back Malaria program, a partnership of WHO and UN
organizations, has been an abysmal failure. Since the RBM founding in
1998, deaths from malaria have steadily increased". This statement
was taken from an article showing a graph with a projection of actual
malaria deaths at 30% increase over the baseline rate just 10 years ago.
The
question is why the increase instead of the projected 50% decrease in
mortality over the life of this project? Let us examine the mission
statement attached to the press release announcing the inception of
this program. It starts out on the first page with the claim "simple
prevention and control methods has shown startling results: in trials
conducted in the Gambia, Burkina Faso, Kenya and Ghana, the use of bed
nets, which are treated with pyrethroid insecticide, was shown to
effectively protect sleeping children from malarial mosquitoes,
resulting in dramatic reductions in deaths among children under five
years of age. Deaths were reduced by average of one fourth in these
mega trials". Perhaps the term "dramatic" in this instance is
shall we say; "dramatic", in its context, this method is much ado about
nothing as in ineffective.
Let's see what other interventions, the Roll Back Malaria mission statement has for our consideration. "Simpler and more effective means of administering medicines" and the encouragement of "new anti-malaria drugs and vaccines",
it sounds like a defensive strategy. First you hide under a net to
avoid the mosquito, if that does not work; you take a pill to keep the
malaria parasite from killing you. As in an American football
expression goes, "the best defense resides in a good offense". Why not deep six the little suckers and be done with it.
The reference to development of "new anti-malaria drugs and vaccines"
is a fools errand, and overlooks the incredibly complex nature of the
malaria parasite. Some 9,000 genes. This parasite has the incredible
ability to adapt to anything. Mr. Robert Desowitz, a medical research
entomologist in his book, MALARIA CAPERS says, the search for a malaria
vaccine has gone on for generations, and none will ever be found, to be
effective. This research he says is for the sole purpose of getting
grant money for universities, from wealthy individuals, foundations and
governments. The cause is noble, however the goal is unobtainable.
Meanwhile resources that could be applied to the elimination of this
disease are wasted by academics. Even Bill Gates is a victim of this
scam, having poured untold millions into this effort.
The
failure to eliminate malaria is more than a humanitarian one, it also
has a dramatic impact on economic development as well. Included in
this Roll Back Malaria mission statement is a quote from Jeffrey Sachs,
Professor at Harvard. and says in part "We and other groups of
economist researchers are trying to determine the consequences of
malaria on economic development" and "Our findings are striking. They
point to Malaria as a major impediment to economic development" enough
said. I once did an internet search and pulled up a colored graph of
the poorest countries on planet earth and a corresponding colored graph
of the countries with most malaria. To my amazement they were
identical. In the arena of public health, the failure to eliminate
malaria in the world is by far the greatest failure. It is not the
failure of technology; it is a failure of leadership! The West has
proven the technology is available. The Will to do something meaningful about this scourge is absent.
Let
us examine the nature of the World Health Organization, the
organization that has taken the lead as "expert" to the 80 or so sister
organizations known as NGO's or Non Governmental Organizations. The
WHO although it is a quasi governmental organization, is by nature a
not for profit, additionally there is a kinship since they both provide
public services. Any organization is of course a simple legal
instrument, so to determine the personality of an organization you have
to examine the personality profiles of its leaders.
A person
known as a bureaucrat is in charge of this complex multi faceted
organization, the nature of a bureaucrat is to keep steady the course
of the organization. Stifling anyone who shows creativity or
initiative; otherwise how can this organization maintain its identity,
if it allows any creative actions on the part of its employees or
anyone else for this matter? If any changes are made it is a committee
that makes them. Of course in the recorded history of mankind there is
no record of a monument ever being erected to a committee; regrettably,
only to individuals.
An entomologist
is the next personality type that needs examination. An entomologist
is a person that studies insects, usually insects that transmit
diseases, the WHO in this case would employ an entomologist that knows
more than a person wants to know about malaria mosquitoes, mating
habits etc. However an entomologist has no training in the art and
science of killing mosquitoes only to identify them. The problem lies
in the perception in their mind that he is an expert in this endeavor.
Hence this is how you get a recommendation for the use of bed nets, an
intervention that is only 25% effective. Then you have the medical
doctors, with their prescriptions pads ever at the ready, to write a
prescription for whatever ails you. In this case a prophylactic pill
to keep the malaria you already have from killing you or modifying the
disease in the event you get it.
The people who suffer from this
misfeasance are of course, the victims of malaria here in Africa.
Additionally the non-profit organizations that depend on the ‘’sound
technical guidance’’ from WHO, in their attempts to obtain value for
their contribution to the welfare of fellow humans.
The
Solution, eliminate the mosquito! this is the only method that will
free Africa from this scourge. By eliminating the mosquito means to
suppress the population to such a low number there will not be enough
mosquitoes left to maintain the transmission cycle. The elimination of
the transmission cycle can be accomplished in about 30 days or so in
Ghana. The elimination of the parasite from the human body will take
at least two years. However there will be no more new infections in
the population, perhaps only re-lapses of old infections. The method
used to obtain this goal, is what is called in the US, "space
spraying". that is the treatment of the atmosphere at night over a
large area, when the malaria mosquito is out and about, flying.
However the objection to this form of treatment has been cost.
Admittedly it has been historically expensive. However over the past
10 years, in the US there have been dramatic advances in reduction of
costs through improvements of insecticide dispersal systems and
application methods. These improvements have made this process
affordable for developing nations and Ghana should go in for it!
Hayford Siaw
Executive Director – VPWA Ghana (www.vpwa.org)
+233 24 3340112 |
posted May 26, 2009 6:57 AM by Unknown user
posted May 22, 2009 8:34 PM by Hayford Siaw
[
updated May 23, 2009 4:56 PM by VPWA Ghana
]
In his
unprecedented efforts for policy change on malaria programmes in
sub-Saharan Africa, the Executive Director of Volunteer Partnerships
for West Africa (VPWA), Mr Hayford Siaw in an interview on Choice fm
102.3, an Accra radio station last Tuesday ,reiterated his call for
civil society groups and governments in sub-Saharan Africa to take the
opportunity of President Obama’s presence on the African soil as
President for United States of America to call for policy change in the
way Malaria is been handle by the powers that be.
He
chronicled the methodology used by United States and Canada and some
parts of Europe in eliminating the scourge of this deadly disease and
hinted that, President Obama will ‘’by all means’’ mention his
country’s efforts in combating diseases on the African continent
including Malaria and as such, it is important to let him know that,
the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) which is a direct contribution
by the US government in fighting the disease along with Global Fund and
other donors are not been used properly and it is time to stop the game
of controlling the disease to a serious approach of eradicating the
disease using same tools the United States implored in defeating
Malaria.
Mr Siaw wondered why in the 21st
century, we should be advocating to ‘’control’’ a disease we could
eradicate if our leadership in Africa will be serious enough to work
with proving methods. As he has always done, he emphasised that even if
mosquito net were to be 100% used by an individual, it effectiveness is
only part at 25% and that is why people are still dying and it is time
we put the billions of dollars going to purchase net to control the
disease into effective mechanisms of eradicating it. He buttresses this
argument by asking the Host of the Programme if the World Health
Organization (WHO) has stopped saying 2 persons die every minute. He
recollects that, he got to know it 20 years ago and we still continue
to say it as if human life is such a disposable commodity.
He mentioned that, despite the
colossal expenditure of over $100 million to combat malaria in Ghana in
2006 and 2007, WHO still reports that there is no evidence of decrease
in Malaria cases and reported deaths has increased. He questioned how
the money was used and for what purpose.
The Host
of the Choice FM Breakfast show, Mr Alfred Ocansey who had also enquire
on the current state of Malaria in Ghana from National Malaria Control
Programme (NMCP) quoted them as saying Malaria cases for 2008 was less
but was however not able to give the figures. The Executive Director of
VPWA ask how sustainable is their so call reduction in figures and
quoted from a WHO Malaria report on Ghana that in 2002, there was total
death of 1917 and it was less in 2003 at 1680 but in 2007, death from
Malaria has risen to almost a triple at 4622.
Meanwhile,
some critics have argued that the aerial insecticide dispensing system
that the VPWA Executive Director is advocating to be introduced in
Ghana to defeat Malaria in Ghana within three years is expensive and we
should therefore concentrate on simple mechanism of distributing nets
to as much people as possible. Speaking to this Reporter, Mr Siaw has
described the critics as ‘’failures refusing to think outside the
box’’. He also described critics as been ‘’brainwashed by Malthusians’’.
In his
opinion, Human life is expensive than the method he is suggesting and
society must not tolerate people who desire to suppress population
growth in such a way. He also ask why net is been recommended and
wondered how many mosquito nets was distributed in Europe and America
during their fight to eradicate Malaria in those places. He wondered
why the Global Fund will boast it success of fight against Malaria by
posting the number of nets they have been able to distribute without
calculating the life saved if any on their website.
|
posted May 26, 2009 6:55 AM by Unknown user
posted May 16, 2009 6:36 PM by VPWA Ghana
[
updated May 16, 2009 7:16 PM
]
The President of United States of America, Barack Obama will
make a historic visit to Ghana
between July 10 – July 11, 2009.
According to Ghana’s
Foreign Ministry, the first Black US President will hold bilateral talks with
Ghanaian President, John Evans Atta Mills aimed at strengthening the fraternal
relations existing between the two countries.
The visit to be the first trip to sub-Sahara Africa by
President Obama and wife Michelle Obama since assumption of office will be symbolic
to advance the strategic role Ghana
has grown to play on the world stage.
It is an indication of strong democratic governance and
freedom that thrives in the fibre of Ghanaian society. It is also a
manifestation of the fundamental role that governments and non-governmental
organizations have played in moulding Ghana as a success story on the
African continent.
Ghana
should however take the opportunity of getting the first African-American
President personally aware of the most challenging issues confronting the
nation and the African continent. It is important that, we make clear cut
statements with our needs with specific time frame and budget to achieving such
goals. Simply asking for support without plan action and budget will be like
making noise in the ears of the US
President.
For those of us in the civil society and especially
campaigning for Malaria Eradication in Ghana and Africa, White House Press
Secretary Robert Gibbs, has indicated that President Obama will highlight critical
role that ‘’good governance and civil society play in promoting development’’
and this affords us an opportunity to make our voice heard by requesting for
new and refreshing strategy in tackling malaria through the President Malaria
Initiative (PMI) by the United States. It is estimated that, Ghana alone will
be receiving a $ 17million grant this year from PMI towards malaria projects and
it is time we call for proper utilitarian of the US tax payer’s money on malaria
in Ghana and Africa while urging African governments to take lead by adopting
policies that is geared towards eradication of the disease which kills 1 person
every 2 hours on average in Ghana and 2 people per minute globally with 90% of
this deaths occurring in black Africa.
It is instructive to point to the US President whose
authority, the PMI is been managed to consider adopting strategies that his
country used after the second world war in eradicating the disease also on the
African continent rather than going the conventional ways which has failed over
the years hence an increase in Malaria deaths for instance in 2007 in Ghana
according to the WHO.
In this vain, Ghana should take lead as it has always done
in difficult times of the African continent to move from policies of
controlling the disease to policies of eradicating the disease since it is that
which will propel a change in donor rules of controlling the disease which has
failed and continues to fail to a more compelling policy to eradicate it.
Ghana should therefore immediately call for a holistic
approach in eradicating the disease by investing in treating people with
existing malaria parasite, conduct aerial insecticide dispersal and embark on
intensive public education.
This should help Ghana to eradicate the disease
within 3 years.
Hayford Siaw
Executive Director
Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa
(VPWA)
www.vpwa.org
info@vpwa.org
+233 24 3340112 |
posted May 26, 2009 6:53 AM by Unknown user
posted May 11, 2009 12:37 PM by VPWA Ghana
In a report on Scientific American on 4 th May
2009, a panel of doctors led by a University of California epidemiologist
called for restriction in the use of DDT having regards to it widespread use in
Africa especially after the endorsement in 2006 by the World Health Organization(WHO).
According to scientificamerican.com ‘’ The scientists
reported that DDT ‘may’ have a variety of human health effects, including
reduced fertility, genital birth defects, breast cancer, diabetes and damage to
developing brains. Its metabolite, DDE, can
block male hormones’’.
‘’Based on recent studies, we conclude that humans are
exposed to DDT and DDE, that indoor residual spraying can result in substantial
exposure and that DDT may pose a risk for human populations," the
scientists wrote in their consensus statement, published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
"We are concerned about the health of children and adults given the
persistence of DDT and its active metabolites in the environment and in the
body, and we are particularly concerned about the potential effects of
continued DDT use on future generations."
In 1947, shortly after the Second World War II, the United States
decided to eradicate Malaria from its territory using DDT in an overwhelming
aerial dispensing spree. By 1952, US had declared it 13 states in the southern
eastern part which had perennial malaria reported cases as Malaria free.
The success of this exercise led to the WHO adopting the DDT
strategy in a so called Global Malaria Eradication Campaign which however
excluded Black African countries with an excuse that, our part of the world was
‘’not ready’’. While the United
States method was aerial dispensing system,
WHO opted for Indoor Residual Spraying system. Though not the best strategy
having regards to the effectiveness of aerial dispensing system, the programme
is reported to have saved 500 million lives in 8 years that would have
otherwise have been lost due to Malaria. This number largely does not include
black Africans and this explains why 90% of all Malaria illness now occurs in
sub-Saharan Africa.
DDT was then praised in superlative terms by the American
National Academy of Science and declared a ‘’miracle pesticide’’.
The success of this programme however did not go down with
Malthusians. In 1972, United
States declared a ban on the use of DDT
twenty years later after it had declared Malaria Free. The ban was base on it
agricultural use which was responsible for depopulation of birds. Environmental
groups joined hands with Malthusians for an unprecedented war against DDT use
till today even after WHO endorsement in 2006 under the leadership of Dr. Araka
Kochi who admitted to WHO Malaria ‘’policy mess’’ and therefore allowed DDT to be
used.
Now, the world has a new group of ‘’menticides’’ referring
themselves as Panel of Doctors who want to cause change in priority for donors
to push their cash into other interventions other than IRS for eradication. The
panel of doctors with all their long paper works were clueless to give alternative
to eradicating Malaria and went ahead to say that DDT should be used as a ‘’last
resort’’.
This is deeply shocking and should send Black Africans on
full scale demonstration against this panel of doctors and their allies. At
what point will the world know to use DDT as the last resort? When 100 people
are dying per second? Currently, WHO taunts that Malaria kills 2 persons each
minute! Is it not enough to tell this Panel of doctors we are in the last resort?
They also had no authentic finding against DDT thereby
referring to their disastrous wishes with a ‘’may’’ phrase.
There
is no evidence that in the 1960s and 80s when DDT was widely used, it had any
disastrous consequence on people.
A
research finding in Uganda in 2007, emphatically indicates low levels of DDT in
parts per billion (ppb) in the human blood samples, urine, soil, beans, and
fish, even after being exposed to the chemical for a long time. The study
further established that “there is also no associated environmental damage or
human defects of infertility, impotence, neurological abnormalities and
cancers.”
What
is more, this research is African oriented – conducted on African soil, by
African researchers and scientist and clothed with excellent reliability and
validity of results. According to Dr Myers Lugemwa of the Department of
Medicine, National referral Hospital,
in Mulago, Uganda – a member of the team that
conducted the research on the effects of DDT in humans and the environment –
when the chemical is applied strictly for indoor spraying, it poses very little
environmental threat.
After all, if the so call future health problems are to be
true, then America should also not produce food and send to so call malnourished
and starving children in Africa because it is likely to also cause obesity
which has ill effects in the long run just as they claim DDT has ill effect in
the future on humans.
I am not an advocate for DDT but found the findings and
statement by the so call Panel of Doctors as unreasonable, ill conceived and a
ploy against humanity. I am equally aware of effective and efficient technology
and insecticides that could be used for a much more highly result oriented
aerial dispensing to eradicate Malaria in the continent of Africa
if resources going into researches sponsoring programmes like this panel of
doctors and nets are channelled for an efficient aerial dispensing system and
public education. Signed:
Hayford Siaw
Executive Director
Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa |
posted May 26, 2009 6:50 AM by Unknown user
posted Apr 28, 2009 6:18 PM by VPWA Ghana
[
updated Apr 28, 2009 7:55 PM
]
Ghana's
Health Minister Hon Dr. George Sipa-Adjah Yankey has called for a
shake-up in the country's malaria control policy. Speaking to delegates
at the Commemoration of World Malaria Day at the Accra International
Conference Centre on 25 April, the Minister called for the creation of
a 'Malaria Elimination Project' by July 2009 and described existing
chain phases for malaria eradication as "too long".
His comments
fly in the face of the UN-backed malaria project 'Roll Back Malaria
(RBM) and it Global Malaria Action Plan (GMAP), which presently put
Ghana in the control stage of the malaria eradication chain. RBM
believes that, in the control stage ‘first scaling up appropriate
interventions for all populations at risk and then sustaining control
over time, malaria will cease to be a major source of deaths
world-wide,’ principally through the distribution of nets.
His
recommendations have been welcomed by Volunteer Partnerships for West
Africa (VPWA), a development NGO based in Ghana, which recently
launched its KICK MALARIA OUT (KMO) elimination project. The project is
set to raise the public's awareness of simple malaria prevention
methods across six West African countries including Ghana and aims to
de-bunk the myth that using nets alone can achieve a significant drop
in malaria cases.
VPWA's
Executive Director Hayford Siaw, who has long campaigned for the
implementation of aerial insecticide dispensing system, indoor residual
spraying and public education, has applauded the Minister for including
this three-pronged approach to fighting the disease. Mr Siaw also urged
Ghana to learn from the successes of countries in North America, North
Africa and the Middle East, which had successfully eliminated malaria
by using these three methods.
"If resources that would be going
into the purchase of nets are channelled into tackling the disease on
these fronts, Ghana should be able to declare itself as malaria-free
zone within three years,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Siaw also challenged the notion that consistent use of nets can lead to Ghana achieving a 0% malaria cases.
"’In every
project proposal, sustainability to achieve real results both in the
short-term and long-term is very crucial and this is why we need to
adopt strategies that encompass the ability of a nation to achieve both
short-term and long-term objectives.
"It is in this
vein that, our organization is calling on governments all over the
continent of Africa to channel the taxpayers’ money that has been spent
on nets to be re-directed into adopting a three-phase approach to
eliminating and eradicating malaria from the continent," he said.
According to Dr
Constance Bart-Plange, Head of Malaria Control Programme of Ghana, who
gave a presentation at the World Malaria Day Celebration, '1.3% of
Ghana’s GPD is spent on malaria annually’.
Mr Siaw
described this figure as "staggering" for a country that wants to
achieve Middle Income Status by 2015. He said that in spite of the
massive spending by donor agencies and government of Ghana, a WHO
report on malaria in Ghana states: 'There was no evidence of a
reduction in malaria cases between 2001-2007, and reported deaths have
increased in 2007'.
The same report
records that a sum close to $100 million from government, the Global
Fund, the World Bank and bilateral donors, was spent on malaria control
in Ghana alone between 2006-2007.
Mr Siaw is
challenging the Ghanaian Government to change the name of the National
Malaria Control Programme to the 'National Malaria Eradication
Programme' ’in a belief that this will help attract more sponsorship
from corporate Ghana to take the issue more seriously. Malaria affects
the majority of the workforce in Ghana and causes a negative output,
which has an adverse effect on corporate Ghana.
Mr Kwaku Appau,
Board Chairman of VPWA, said: "The question Ghanaians and the donor
communities should be asking themselves is why are there all these
investments into malaria control and yet the death rate continues to
rise? It is simple; expenditure is going into areas that do not stop
the malaria vector from breeding so there is a continuous
multiplication."
The KICK OUT
MALARIA project will run for four weeks between August to September
2009. A team of local and international volunteers will travel across
Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Cote D'Ivoire raising awareness of some
of the simple activities people can do in their home environment to
eradicate mosquito breeding grounds.
Kirsty Osei-Bempong – PR/Communications for VPWA
PRESS SECTION- VPWA |
posted May 26, 2009 6:48 AM by Unknown user
posted Apr 23, 2009 7:14 PM by VPWA Ghana
[
updated Apr 26, 2009 7:25 PM
]
Plans to kick-start a malaria eradication initiative
were given a welcome boost today following the award of £7,500 grant to
Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa (VPWA). The non-profit,
non-governmental organisation based in Accra, Ghana, aims to address
some of the simple and yet most effective tools in tackling the spread
of one of Africa's killer diseases with its Kick Malaria Out (KMO)
initiative. KMO 2009 shall seek to
conduct community workshops on Malaria by disseminating people-friendly
statistical information on the spread of Malaria and providing
preventative measures to prevent being infected by the disease and also
conduct clean-up training exercises designed to show communities how to
prevent and clear water stagnation which is the breeding source of
mosquitoes. The event is scheduled to run from 20 August
2009 and 20 September 2009 and will incorporate an awareness campaign
spanning six West African countries (Ivory Coast, Togo, Ghana, Liberia,
Benin and Nigeria). The funding from Worldwidehelpers.org - a
non-profit online platform connecting worldwide volunteers to
placements with non-profit institutions globally - will be used to
support VPWA's awareness campaign over the next five months. This
advertising space is the first of it kind by Worldwidehelpers.org to be
extended to an African organization. In a statement released by
Miss Roya Elghanian, Chairman of Worldwide Helpers, said: "We at
Worldwide Helpers are delighted to be supporting such a worthy project.
Our hope is that this offer to VPWA and the KMO initiative will go a
long way to raising global publicity and awareness about malaria and it
staggering effect on the African continent. We want to help to support
VPWA's call for its elimination from the continent.
Mr Hayford Siaw, Executive Director of VPWA, used the opportunity to
call on corporate Ghana and Africa to support such impressive
indigenous initiatives since it is only ‘’we Africans that can solve
our own problems’’.
He further disclosed some international media networks interest in
covering the outreach in August-September in the sub-region and said it
was an indication of strong commitment by these outfits to global
health. He called on local media networks in Africa to sign up to cover
the events and to offer airtime for these initiatives to educate the
population as part of their corporate social responsibility. |
posted May 26, 2009 6:46 AM by Unknown user
posted Mar 31, 2009 10:06 AM by VPWA Ghana
GHANA NEWS AGENCY: The West African sub-region is
expected to have a youth-led initiative geared towards supporting the
44 African nations that signed the historic declaration in Abuja in
2000 to scale malaria cases down to 50 per cent by year 2010 and near
zero deaths by 2015. A youth-led NGO, Volunteer Partnerships for
West Africa (VPWA), is mobilizing volunteers from around the world for
an intensive malaria awareness project dubbed Kick Malaria Out (KMO),
which is an annual event to be held for the next six years to reach it
objectives. “This impressive campaign has been necessitated
because of the identified flaw approach by the United Nations-backed
Roll Back Malaria (RBM) in handling issues of malaria eradication in
Africa,” Mr. Hayford Siaw, Executive Director of VPWA, said in a
statement released in Accra on Monday. “One important element
missing in RBM is educating the population on breeding fields in
households and communities and how the individual citizens can fight
for Malaria free communities. The programme therefore lacks citizen
centred approach,” he said. Mr Hayford noted that the United
States’ efforts to control malaria in the 50s was not about
distributing nets and wondered why African governments were in the same
bed with mosquito net manufacturers to throw nets on West Africans at
the expense of dealing with real issues that can eradicate the disease
which is killing our people every minute. He said Ghana had
seen an increase in mosquito nets and most organization now prided
itself as distributing net to poor Africans knowing very well that
these acts were unsustainable and created a mediocritise society. According
to a WHO report on Malaria in Ghana, there was no evidence of reduction
in cases between 2001 and 2007 and reported deaths had increased in
2007. Mr Hayford said according to WHO, Africa accounted for over 90 per cent of the 1.5 to 2 million global malaria deaths yearly. “In
many countries, the scourge is hardest on children from ages 1-5 with a
child dying every 30 seconds. In the last decades, the prevalence of
malaria in most of the affected countries has taken a huge toll on
their health budgets and human resources despite efforts to keep the
disease under control.” Mr Hayford quoted the World Bank as saying Africa spent 12 billion dollars annually in fighting a disease “we could eradicate”. “The
urgent call now is on Africans to initiate holistic approach that puts
the responsibility on us to eradicate the disease and that’s why KMO
2009 marks the beginning of a new chapter in Malaria Campaign in
Africa,” he said. The 2009 month long campaign in six West
African countries (Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and
Nigeria) in August-September is to stimulate the citizens into action
by disseminating information on the disease and its negative wide scale
health and economic negative effects on the individual while educating
the population on breeding fields in our homes and communities and
measures to eliminate such sites. Source: GNA http://news.myjoyonline.com/news/200903/28157.asp |
posted May 26, 2009 6:44 AM by Unknown user
posted Mar 31, 2009 10:06 AM by VPWA Ghana
KICK MALARIA OUT (KMO) 2009 which comes off between 20th August 2009 to 20th
September 2009 in 6 West African countries (Ivory Coast, Togo, Ghana,
Liberia, Benin and Nigeria), an initiative of Volunteer Partnerships
for West Africa (VPWA), a non-profit, non governmental youth-led
development oriented organization base in Accra, Ghana has been awarded
a 5 months publicity advertising space on Worldwidehelpers.org valued
at £ 7500
Worldwidehelpers.org
is a UK based non-profit online platform connecting worldwide
volunteers to placements with non-profit institutions globally. This
advertising space is the first of it kind by Worldwidehelpers.org to be
extended to an African organization.
In a
statement released by Miss Roya Elghanian, Chairman of Worldwide
Helpers, she indicated her organization’s commitment to support such a
worthy project and hope this offer to VPWA and the KMO initiative will
go a long way to help raise global publicity and awareness about
Malaria and it staggering effect on the African continent with a call
to Action to eliminate the disease from the continent.
Mr
Hayford Siaw, Executive Director of VPWA, used the opportunity to call
on corporate Ghana and Africa to support such impressive indigenous
initiatives since it is only ‘’we Africans that can solve our own
problems’’.
He
further disclosed some international media networks interest in
covering the outreach in August-September in the sub-region and said it
was an indication of strong commitment by these outfits to global
health. He calls on local media networks in Africa to sign up to cover
the events and to offer airtime for these initiatives to educate the
population as part of their corporate social responsibility.
Mr
Hayford expressed gratitude to Ghana News Agency for it first release
on KMO and also to Atlantis Radio for being the first radio station to
call VPWA and to feature KMO on their news bulletin.
Press Section:
KMO 2009 |
posted May 26, 2009 6:42 AM by Unknown user
[
updated May 26, 2009 6:43 AM
]
posted Mar 30, 2009 11:26 AM by VPWA Ghana
[
updated Mar 30, 2009 11:56 AM
]
The West African sub-region is expected to have a
youth-led initiative geared towards supporting the 44 African Nations
that signed the historic declaration in Abuja in 2000 to scale Malaria
down to 50% by year 2010 and near zero deaths by 2015.
A youth led NGO, Volunteer Partnerships for West Africa (VPWA)
is mobilizing volunteers from around the world for an impressive and
intensive malaria awareness project dubbed KICK MALARIA OUT (KMO) which
is an annual event to be held for the next 6 years to reach it
objectives. This impressive campaign has been necessitated due to the
identified flaw approach by the United Nations back Roll Back Malaria
(RBM) in handling issues of Malaria eradication in Africa says Mr
Hayford Siaw (Executive Director of VPWA). One important element
missing in RBM is educating the population on breeding fields in
households and communities and how the individual citizens can fight
for Malaria free communities. The programme therefore lacks citizen
centred approach, he concluded.
Mr Hayford argues that, the United States efforts to eradicate
Malaria in the 50’s was not about distributing of nets and wondered why
African governments are in the same bed with mosquito net manufacturers
to throw nets on west Africans at the expense of dealing with real
issues that can eradicate the disease which is killing our people every
minute. He further buttress his point that, Ghana has seen an increase
in mosquito nets and most organization now pride themselves as
distributing net to poor Africans knowing very well that, these acts
are unsustainable and create a mediocritise society. He states.
According to WHO (ironically leading the net spree in Africa) report on
Malaria in Ghana, there was no evidence of reduction in cases between
2001-2007 and reported deaths has increased in 2007. So what did the
nets do?
According to WHO, Africa accounts for over 90 per cent of the 1.5 to
2 million global malaria deaths yearly. In many countries, the scourge
is hardest on children from ages 1-5 with a child dying every 30
seconds. In the last decades, the prevalence of malaria in most of the
affected countries has taken a huge toll on their health budgets and
human resources despite efforts to keep the disease under control.
According to the World Bank, Africa spends $12 billion annually in
fighting a disease we could eradicate.
The urgent call now is on Africans to initiate holistic approach
that put the responsibility on us to eradicate the disease and that’s
why KMO 2009 marks the beginning of a new chapter in Malaria Campaign
in Africa. The 2009 campaign which takes place for a month long period
in 6 West African countries (Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin,
and Nigeria) in August-September is to stimulate the citizen into
action by disseminating information on the disease and it wide scale
health and economic negative effects on the individual while educating
the population on breeding fields in our homes and communities and
measures to eliminate such sites.
VPWA is therefore calling on all interested individuals,
organizations and companies in Africa and well wishers of Africa around
the world to support the KMO 2009 campaign in helping eradicate the
disease.
Please send an email to kmo2009@vpwa.org if you are interested to support KMO 2009. Visit us on www.vpwa.org Press Section:
VPWA KMO 2009 campaign Contact VPWA Executive Director on hayford@vpwa.org or + 233 24 3340112, +233 20 8272943. |
|
