Click to enlarge
World Malaria Day is observed every year on April 25th to venerate the efforts of different parts of the World to control Malaria prevalence. Novartis Pharma Pakistan, a Multinational Research based Pharmaceutical Company organized an Awareness Session recently in a local hotel in Karachi. The event comprised of interaction between the medical community and media to learn about current situation of this Killer but preventable disease and also necessary measures required for diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
Dr. Ahson Siddiqui, Medical Director, Novartis Pharma Pakistan welcomed the participants and brief about the objectives of the session. Guest of Honor, Minister of Health, Sindh, Dr. Sagheer Ahmed augmented the impact of this awareness program by his remarkable presence and speech on Malaria and its impact in Pakistan. He said that Malaria is the most important of the parasitic diseases of humans present in 107 countries and areas at risk of transmission are close to 50 percent of the world’s Population. More than 3 billion people of world population are vulnerable to this infectious disease and it causes between 1 million and 3 million deaths each year. Recent estimates of the global falciparum malaria morbidity burden have increased the number to 515 million cases.
Almost 5 billion clinical episodes of malaria occur in endemic areas annually. Doctor’s highlighted that Malaria is the most devastating and prevalent disease and annual malaria episodes in Pakistan are estimated to be 1.5 million. It is no surprise to learn that poorest countries suffer the most from this disease. Malaria is a dangerous but preventable disease and all the miseries can be easily ruled out through proper management and education.
Dr. Qutubuddin Kakkar, National Program Officer for Malaria Control and Elimination WHO Pakistan gave a brief overview of Malaria Prevalence, The Global and National Perspective.
The Panelist answered the questions from media includes Prof. Muhammad Ali, Head of Pediatrician, Service Hospital Lahore, Prof. S. M. Munir, Head of Medicine, JPMC Karachi, Dr. Husnain Mirza, Medical Specialist, Sindh Social Security, Dr. Naheed Jamali, Director Malaria Control Sindh Dr. Qutubuddin Kakkar and Dr. Abrar Sheikh, Head of Medicine, Medical College Sukkur who illuminated the Current epidemiological condition of Malaria in Pakistan and Challenges we are facing in managing the number of deaths occurring due to Malaria. The panelist iterated that Malaria affects almost 16% of our population and the incidence of Malaria is highest in Baluchistan which accounts for the 46% of all cases annually and in Sindh and coastal areas is present year-around. Some of the reasons of our inability to meet the ultimate objective of bringing Malaria prevalence to zero in our country as affirmed by the Doctors are poor quality of microscopy services, lack of trained staff, no maintenance of lab equipments and patient’s compliance. People are prone to self diagnosis and self medication which never results in eradication of Malarial Parasites in a person and infact it further complicates the situation. We have no proper awareness programs and our poorly informed population relies on tactics which make the disease worse leading to Deaths! The Global march towards complete elimination of this infectious disease by 2015 has led to advancement in many countries. Our country has also witnessed slight improvement in the control due to some steps taken by Leading Institutions, Governmental Bodies and Philanthropic Companies such as Novartis which are striving to spread awareness to many as possible and reduce the burden of Malaria from our Country. A mosquito seems to be among the tiniest creature of the universe. But it can be as dangerous as dinosaurs. Early diagnosis and treatment of malaria reduces disease and prevents deaths. The entire Nation has to become one and join hands in spreading awareness to drive out this debilitating disease from our Country. World Malaria Day represents a chance for all of us to make a difference!