“If you can trap mosquitoes in one house, they will not be able to go to the next house.” This is a clear message from Dr. Margaret Chan that collective efforts were needed from malaria stakeholders to win the battle
against the disease.
 When the Director General of the World Health Organization visited Tanzania in mid-August 2009, she noted that people were not sensitized enough on the damage that malaria can do to people’s health status and national economies. Dr.Chan called upon the media to join in “creating a momentum for people to have a good night’s sleep. The media can help in sensitizing people,” Dr. Chan told journalists in Dar es Salaam.

Dr. Chan interacting a mother and child in Tanzania

A friend of mine sent me a sarcastic short message around 9 pm. Ann Marie wrote: “Once I catch you I’ll take you to bed. I will make you hot and I will make you sweat. I will make you groan. I will make you so tired.” With these few words, the screen of my Nokia phone was full and I had to pause a bit to digest the message. Then I scrolled down to read the last lines. The concluding line says “its me Malaria!”

Then I remembered that Ann Marie was just recovering from malaria. She created the message to tease me, but at the same time to warn me that malaria is at work. Down the last line of the message, Ann warned me: “Remember to fix up your bed net. Good night!” That was a good reminder for me because I was still seated in the living room watching my favorite program “Straight Talk Africa” a television programme presented by Shaka Ssali every Wednesday on the Voice of America. 

This short message from my friend prompted me to go to the bed because my wife had already gone to bed 30 minutes ago. When I entered the bed room, the mosquito bed net wasn’t fixed and my wife was already in her deep sleep. I found three big mosquitoes quietly dinning over my wife’s body. When feeding, mosquitoes infect the host with parasites that cause the deadly malaria. According to the Manager of the Tanzania’s Malaria Control Program Dr. Alex Mwita, “malaria kills between 60,000 and 80,000 people in Tanzania yearly,” and the majority of the victims are pregnant women and children below five years of age.

The warning from my friend Ann Marie is really important not only for me but for the entire African continent. While the majority of people get malaria because they don’t have a bed net, others get it simply because they do not fix it up before they go to bed. Failure in not using mosquito bed nets and other measures make it difficult to eradicate malaria.

The WHO Director General during her visit applauded Tanzania’s anti-malaria stance, but also warned that the war against malaria must be fought from different fronts if it has to be won.
“It is important that malaria is removed completely. If you do not, it will come back.” She said to achieve the war, mosquitoes should be trapped in the first house they enter.

Dr. Chan commended an effective public-private sector partnership in this war against malaria.
Tanzania has a success story where the government and private sector has come together to combat malaria. The best insecticide treated bed nets are produced in Tanzania by a private company with close partnership with the government. At the same time, Ifakara Health Institute is evaluating various malaria control interventions and advice the ministry adequately on the best control measures. Some of the successful effectiveness evaluations carried out by IHI include the Interdisciplinary Monitoring Programme for Anti-malarial Combination Therapy (IMPACT). This was IHI’s programmes designed to inform government policy. IMPACT evaluated the rollout of effective – but costly – artemisin-based combination therapies (ACTs) to fight malaria in Tanzania. ACTs are the gold standard in malaria treatment.
The WHO Chief Executive said WHO is aware that ACTs drugs are costly. That is why her organization is creating conditions that would encourage countries to build local plants for pharmaceuticals production with the required capacities. The conditions would make it cheaper to establish such plants, thus making the drugs cheaper. 

“I am extremely impressed with the political support I have found here. We need a political support in order to succeed in this fight,” she said. The Director General said her organization will support Tanzania to distribute 13,000,000 bed nets throughout Tanzania as part of the universal coverage campaign. In a move to make this pledge a reality, the Global Fund has committed to disburse US$111 million to Tanzania to help fight malaria.

During the three-day tour in Tanzania, the WHO boss visited the Bagamoyo branch of Ifakara Health Institute (IHI). In Bagamoyo, IHI is implementing Phase 3 of the RTS,S malaria vaccine trial which, if successful, it will be a breakthrough in the fight against malaria globally. Dr Chan was again impressed, first by the creativity and commitment of researchers at IHI, and second the setting in which the research is taking place is conducive for exchange of professional expertise to take place. IHI research centre in Bagamoyo is build within the Bagamoyo District Hospital and this set up allows for “professional cross-fertilization” to occur. “It is good for scientists to ground their research work on reality, and also for the clinicians to learn about how research innovation can be applied to change their lives and practice” and most importantly how to protect the lives of the people in Tanzania, Dr. Chan said.

After the visit in IHI Bagamoyo branch, Tanzania’s Minister for Health and Social Welfare Prof. David Mwakyusa who accompanied the WHO Director General to IHI Bagamoyo said he too was impressed by the work of the institute. The Minister said the work of IHI has put Tanzania on the world map because the products that come out are something that can revolutionize a lot of things in the medical care. “I encourage research.” He said health research was important in providing lasting solutions for health problems. “Without research business will be as usual.” Indeed its research has helped to shape many of the policies of the WHO.

Dr. Chan was accompanied by Dr. Tachi Yamada, president of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program; Mr. Raymond Chambers, the UN Special Envoy for Malaria Raymond Chambers; and Dr. Luís Sambo, the WHO Regional Director for Africa. Throughout the visit of the Director General, Dr. Yamada and Mr. Chambers asked questions and made important suggestions to make the war against malaria more effective. For instance, Mr. Raymond Chambers told journalists that the challenge in Africa was convincing people to use bed nets once they got them. “It appears in Africa, one out of two people will not sleep under a net unless they are reminded, encouraged or there are inspirational messages on the radio.” The warning from my friend Ann Marie and my response confirms Mr. Ray Chambers’ observation.