Rome (Fides Service) - Numerous organisations have called on the European Parliament to show greater commitment to fight malaria which every day strikes 3,000 children in Africa. More than any other disease this parasitic fever continues to strike and kill all over the world. As with other the silent tragedies of our day, most of the victims are under five and live in Africa.
The World Health Organisation and other bodies have stressed the need for co-ordinated efforts to fight malaria and increase resources assigned for vaccine and therapy research .
Malaria is connected with poverty not chance, and it is more than even urgent to help the most affected countries. Every year African countries spend 12,000 million dollars to fight malaria. The only effective treatment at the moment is TCA (tricarboxylic acid), of which there exist 50 million doses for the 300 million patients foreseen for 2005.
However, according to WHO progress has been made in the fight against Malaria in some counries, Togo and Zambia for example, thanks to extensive campaigns to distribute mosquito nets impregnated with insecticide to homes (the best preventative method against this insect carried fever). (AP) (28/4/2005 Agenzia Fides; Righe:21 Parole:244)