The Gambia’s Ministry of Health, through the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP), hosted a press briefing on Tuesday in anticipation of World Malaria Day to reiterate the country’s commitment to eradicating malaria, a disease that still has a significant impact on public health systems throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
The event, which took place in the NMCP Conference Hall in Kanifing, brought together World Health Organisation (WHO) representatives, foreign partners, and health officials to highlight the country’s malaria control efforts’ ongoing problems as well as their success.
The 60th World Health Assembly established World Malaria Day, which is observed on 25 April every year, in 2007 to raise awareness of malaria prevention and control worldwide. Through consistent funding, innovation, and strategic alliances, governments, donors, researchers, and communities are urged to renew their commitment to the theme of this year, “Malaria Ends With Us: Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite.”
Musa Camara, the Regional Health Director for Western Health Region 1, spoke on behalf of the Director of Health Services, and he pointed out that although The Gambia has made significant progress in combating malaria, the momentum must not slow down in the face of logistical and budgetary challenges.
Malaria Ends with Us: Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite is this year’s theme, and it is apt given the decreased global financial investment in malaria control, which is made worse by the recent USAID funding costs worldwide. This necessitates using creative and long-lasting finance strategies to preserve the recorded advantages. In order to accomplish elimination in the Gambia, the ministry of health and its partners will keep using both domestic and foreign resources for interventions and services that have been shown to be successful and affordable,” he stated.
This view was mirrored by the WHO Country Representative to The Gambia, who said that the day offers a chance to evaluate successes and renew commitment to fighting one of the most persistent and fatal illnesses in the world.
Every rainy season, families experience the quiet anxiety of mosquito bites, fevers, and hurried trips to health centres, frequently in the middle of the night, as a result of malaria. Those whose health is most at risk, such as young children and expectant moms, are particularly affected, he said.
Malaria remains a serious hazard in spite of increased international and regional efforts. According to WHO estimates, there were around 600,000 malaria deaths and 263 million new cases in 2023 alone, with 95 percent of those deaths taking place in Africa.
NMCP Assistant Program Manager Balla Gibba stressed the importance of continued political commitment, innovation, and public awareness.
“That is a call for us to redouble our efforts, advocating more, investing, and promoting innovative approaches to tools that can better handle the disease that is still a problem,” he said, adding that “we have done but we still have to do a lot more.”
In order to increase grassroots awareness and resilience, communities throughout The Gambia will participate in outreach initiatives, mosquito net distributions, and educational activities in the run-up to World Malaria Day, including the press briefing.
