Day: August 17, 2022

Health officials in Zimbabwe are attempting to contain a measles outbreak that has infected more than 2,000 people and killed at least 157 children. The country’s health ministry blames the outbreak on religious sects that are against vaccinations. The government wants all children vaccinated before schools reopen in early September.

Zimbabwe’s information minister, Monica Mutsvangwa, said the infectious viral disease – which causes a fever and a red rash – was rampant in Manicaland province, which borders Mozambique.

She said 1,270 cases and 122 deaths had been recorded in the province as of Tuesday.

“All the victims had not received vaccinations against measles. Government has invoked Civil Protection Unit Act to deal with the emergency, and the Ministry of Health and Child Care is on the ground carrying out an intensive vaccination program,” Mutsvangwa said. “Cabinet has directed the Ministry of Health and Child Care to engage traditional and faith leaders for their support on the vaccination program.

The government is trying to vaccinate all children between ages six and 15 with the help of U.N. agencies such as UNICEF and the World Health Organization, said July Moyo, Zimbabwe’s minister of local government.

Moyo said the goal is to finish the vaccinations as soon as possible.

“The Civil Protection Unit met to analyze what has to be done. What they are sure of is that this spread (of measles) now needs to be tackled as an emergency,” Moyo said. “We have now mobilized resources to make sure that the children are vaccinated before schools open. This July and August, we have a lot of churches that assemble and we think that is the way this measles can be spread so we are targeting those, so that they can be vaccinated.”

Dr. Cleophas Chimbetete, president of Zimbabwe College of Public Health Physicians, says the government must continue talking to religious leaders of sects that do not believe in vaccination to prevent more measles outbreaks.

“This is the second one and it’s sad because measles is one of the vaccine preventable diseases of childhood… Such an outbreak shows that things really are not functioning as they should in terms of our public health system…. In this case, you realize that the majority of children that are being affected belong to a certain sect and sadly this sect does not consent to vaccination of children,” Chimbetete said.

A previous measles outbreak in Manicaland province in May affected 137 people and caused about 20 deaths.

Source: Voice of America

At least 26 people died and dozens of others were injured in forest fires that ravaged 14 districts of northern Algeria on Wednesday, the interior minister said.

Kamel Beldjoud told state television that 24 people died in fires in El Tarf, near the border with Tunisia, and two others died earlier in Setif.

The civil protection agency in Setif had said that two women, “a 58-year-old mother and her 31-year-old daughter,” were killed in the town.

In Souk Ahras, farther to the east near Algeria’s border with Tunisia, people were seen fleeing their homes as fires spread before firefighting helicopters were deployed.

An earlier update said four people in Souk Ahras suffered burns and 41 others had breathing difficulties, the authorities said. Media reports said 350 residents had been evacuated.

No current figures were given on the number of people injured in the fires in other areas.

The police have closed several roads as a result of the fires.

“Thirty-nine fires are underway in 14 wilayas [administrative councils],” the civil protection agency said, noting that El Tarf was the worst hit, with 16 fires in progress.

Helicopters used buckets to drop water on fires in three wilayas, including Souk Ahras.

Since the start of August, 106 fires have broken out in Algeria, destroying more than 2,500 hectares of woodland.

Beldjoud said some of the fires were started by people.

Wednesday’s toll brought the total number of people killed in wildfires this summer to 30.

Algeria has 4.1 million hectares (10.1 million acres) of forest. Each year the northern part of the country is affected by forest fires, a problem that has worsened because of climate change.

Last year, at least 90 people died in forest fires that ravaged northern Algeria, destroying more than 100,000 hectares of woodland.

Source: Voice of America

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has launched a council to eradicate malaria and named Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, as its leader. Africa accounts for the vast majority of deaths from the mosquito-borne disease, with nearly a third of victims in Nigeria. But Africa has struggled to eliminate the disease.

The launch of Nigeria’s End Malaria Council, EMC, took place Tuesday at the presidential banquet hall in Abuja.

During the event, Nigerian President Buhari inaugurated the 16-member committee, which will oversee an effort to eliminate malaria in Nigeria within the next eight years.

He appointed business magnate Aliko Dangote as the chairman of the group. Dangote runs a non-profit that has been mobilizing private sector support for malaria control in Africa.

Buhari said the council will advocate for more funding to sustain anti-malaria projects in the country.

“Our inauguration today will ensure that malaria elimination remains a priority on our agenda with strong political commitment from leaders at all levels,” said Buhari. “The successful implementation of the council’s agenda will result in improvement in the quality of life.”

The World Health Organization says Nigeria alone accounts for about 27% of all malaria cases and 32% of malaria deaths globally.

The idea to set up country-led councils to fight malaria in Africa was birthed by the African Union Assembly in 2018 with the stated aim of eliminating the disease from the continent by 2030.

Lack of funding and lack of innovation have been major factors stalling progress, says Lynda Ozor, WHO malaria program chief, who spoke to VOA Tuesday.

“For me it represents the highest political commitment to end malaria. The political commitment which we saw yesterday translates to recommitment to accelerate actions towards ending the disease,” said Ozor. “Malaria is not just a disease but a socioeconomic problem. We hope that in the very near future we should be gearing towards our elimination goal.”

The mosquito-borne disease is endemic in Africa and mostly affects children under five years old, due to low acquired immunity.

Wellington Oyibo, a parasitologist at the University of Lagos, says eradicating malaria will require a multi-pronged strategy. He spoke to a Lagos-based Channels television station.

“With the approval of the vaccine last year, every other control measure – vector control, the use of efficacious medicines, the use of diagnostics to confirm fever before treatment, even going further to the reengineering of the environment will be needed. It’s going to be all tools together,” said Oyibo.

Nigeria is one of more than 20 African countries that have launched country-specific responses to malaria, including Kenya, Zambia, Eswatini, and Uganda.

Source: Voice of America