Why It Is Difficult to Eradicate Malaria in Sub-Sahara Africa

In: Perspectives on global development and technology: pgdt, Volume 18, Issue 3, p. 269-285

Abstract

Malaria is a major public health problem in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA). First-time pregnant mothers and children below the age of five are the most vulnerable. Governments of the region have relied on both local and international donor agencies to fight against malaria where emphasis has been on financial interventions, provision and distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs), provision of rapid-test apparatus, and drugs for first line treatment. However, the impacts of local and global efforts have been minimally felt as the burden of malaria continues unabated. The rate of malaria infections is still apocalyptically alarming. This article argues that the reason why cases and deaths attributable to malaria continue to rise is because wrong approaches are used in the so-called broad fight against malaria. Based on the assumptions of the epidemiological triangle model, the web of causation and social determinants of health, the article argues that for countries in SSA to effectively fight malaria, the nexus between the agent, host, and environment must be acknowledged. It is constructively argued that efforts to tame the scourge of malaria in SSA would be in futility where the environmental factors that produce the breeding ground for malaria are not adequately addressed. European and American experiences are compared to sufficiently substantiate this line of argument.