With everybody fixated on Zika, the fatal disease transmitted by mosquitoes, which causes severe birth defects, Malaria appears to have been given the back seat. Hmmm….Dangerous trend I daresay, because malaria is potentially deadly, affects all age groups, and has severe consequences on individuals, organizations and the world economy. This calls to mind the similar interplay between HIV and the Hepatitis B virus which is up to 100 times more infectious than HIV and yet given less attention! But that’s a story for another day.
Contrary to popular opinion, malaria, though more likely to occur in the warm and humid regions of the world, (Spoiler alert!) is not confined to those parts. Why? International travel! Try to imagine how many people travel to exotic locations on vacation every year…That’s just a fraction of it. So you see, malaria is a global public health issue and should be a part of every organization’s wellness program.
The Burden
In 2015, according to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report, 95 countries and territories had ongoing malaria transmission. These countries were visited by over 130 million international travelers. Worldwide, there were 214 million cases and 438,000 deaths reported, due to malaria. The report also states that 3.2 billion people (about half of the world’s population) are at risk of malaria, with most reported cases and deaths in sub-Saharan Africa, which recorded 88% of malaria cases and 90% of deaths due to malaria in 2015 (Serious stats, right?!).
The Ghana News Agency reported that malaria costs the nation over $735 million annually through sickness and lost productivity. In 2014 , it cost businesses about GH₵ 20,000,000. 90% of this was direct cost of disease and 10% was due to absenteeism.
In the same vein, Nigeria’s Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Country Consultative Mission reported that malaria gulps over N132 billion annually as direct cost of treatment, loss of man hours, absenteeism from work and school, cost to government for providing malaria control measures as well as the cost of premature death.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) also reported that approximately 1,500–2,000 cases of malaria are reported every year in the United States, almost all in recent travelers. It came as no surprise then that on World Malaria Day 2016, U.S President Barack Obama urged Congress to increase U.S. funding for malaria by $200 million.
Now, you see why we should all take malaria seriously!
What is Malaria?
Malaria is a life-threatening febrile illness caused by the parasite, Plasmodium, which is transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Although rare, people could also get infected via blood transmission, as well as from mother to child. “Airport” malaria refers to malaria caused by infected mosquitoes that are transported rapidly by aircraft from a malaria-endemic country to a non-endemic country. If the local conditions allow their survival, they can bite local residents who may then acquire malaria without having traveled abroad
There are 5 identified species associated with malaria in humans, but Plasmodium falciparum and vivax are responsible for the most severe diseases.
- P. falciparum is the most prevalent malaria parasite on the African continent. It is responsible for most malaria-related deaths globally.
- P. vivax is the dominant malaria parasite in most countries outside of sub-Saharan Africa.
Is there any good news?
Absolutely! Malaria is preventable and curable, and increased efforts are dramatically reducing the malaria burden in many places. The global malaria mortality rate was reduced by 60% in 2000 – 2015, and an estimated 6.2 million lives were saved as a result of a scale-up of malaria interventions.
Malaria interventions are highly cost-effective, and often result in noticeably dramatic reductions in number of malaria deaths. Studies have shown that employees and their families are the healthier for it, resulting in increased workplace productivity and a decrease in work days lost due to sickness among employees and their dependents. Companies also saved money on health-care spending, reduced the strain on the health care system, and boosted local economies through their efforts.
What can you do in your workplace?
To join this war against malaria, the Global Business Coalition (GBC) encourages businesses to:
- Identify malaria as a corporate priority.
- Include malaria in the company’s wellness and health benefits strategy and program.
- Engage health educators to increase workplace and/or community awareness about malaria.
- Distribute repellents and insecticide-treated bed nets to employees and their families.
- Provide access to ACT (artemisinin-based combination therapy) treatment in-house or through health service contractors.
- Engage the local community in planning, advocacy and implementation.
- If feasible, conduct/arrange for indoor residual spraying (IRS) of employee homes and the company’s premises.
- Employ environmentally conscious practices to reduce concentration of larvae and mosquitoes.
- Impact reporting, external advocacy and participation in malaria platforms.
One success story, among an ever growing number, is that of ExxonMobil, which is recorded in the Roll Back Malaria news bulletin. ExxonMobil launched the Malaria Control Program (MCP) to provide all employees and contractors working in malaria risk areas, their spouses and other dependents, with MCP resources including educational materials, preventive medicines, tools such as bed nets and diagnostic services.
What was the result? Reduction in the number of cases of malaria among the non-immune and the number of serious cases among the semi-immune have helped keep its workforce healthy and productive. Since the comprehensive company-wide MCP was introduced in 2001, malaria incidence among the ExxonMobil employee and contractor population has been among the lowest for comparative operations. In the last four years, ExxonMobil has recorded zero serious cases in semi-immune personnel, and three cases of malaria in non-immune personnel.
Regardless of whether you are a small, medium or big business organization, you have a huge role to play in the global war against this potentially deadly disease called malaria. Your employees and the world depend on you for the leverage that your participation offers.
Let’s all join hands to make the theme of the World Malaria Day 2016 a reality and “End Malaria for Good!”
Yours could be the next success story!!!
COTA Logistics 