Why hasn’t malaria been eradicated or brought under control?
First, malaria is a disease of the poor and has been neglected for years. This is why it has not been eradicated. It is not the problem of those who frame the world. Second, malaria is due to a parasite, not a virus, and it is endemic. It is very difficult to eradicate a parasitical disease. With infectious diseases, eradication often comes from a vaccine, but with diseases like malaria you always have the parasite somewhere. Third, which is perhaps linked to the first point, is that malaria is really a disease that you are trying to prevent outside the health system. It is a disease that we need to tackle by a multisector approach and by partnership and not as a medical thing. Q: Why is malaria neglected? A: It’s neglected for several reasons and on several levels. Africans themselves neglect it every time they treat the disease as something minor, every time they say, “Oh, it’s only malaria.” It’s neglected by the north because it’s not their problem. They don’t see malaria anymore –
