Lost Battle Against Malaria

By Azore Opio

Malaria, one of man’s oldest foes, remains as elusive as it was when it was first discovered.

The war against malaria has appealed to weapons such as DDT, Chloroquine and Quinine bullets to Nigeria’s Daraprim of the 1960s, to modern-day triple-charged combination drugs. Yet, the disease persists.

In 2002 alone, malaria killed an estimated 515 million, 50% more than earlier approximations. This was a big blow to all the campaigns carried out under lofty slogans such as Roll Back Malaria, medical onslaughts and research raids and other prophylactic arsenals directed at the disease. The stubborn disease kills at least a million people annually, mostly children.

The combat against malaria is indefinite, let alone ‘rolling back’ the bug.