By Evarist Kagaruki
Tanzania has been commended for its endeavours to tackle malaria. The government’s commitment to combating the killer disease has attracted much international attention.
Recently, President Jakaya Kikwete was among a few African leaders who received the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) special excellence award during the 18th AU Summit in Addis Ababa in recognition of their concerted efforts towards eradicating malaria in their respective countries.
ALMA is an alliance of African Heads of State and Government working together to end malaria-related deaths on the continent.
But the fight against the disease is destined to be a long and tough one. There are two serious problems, which could hamper efforts to control malaria if the government won’t take concrete steps to address them. One is about the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets supposed to be distributed to the people all over the country free of charge, and the planned application of DDT spray in homes.
There are allegations that scaremongers have been spreading stupid rumours aimed at fooling people into believing that the mosquito nets and the anti-mosquito spray contain ingredients of chemicals that could cause impotence among men and/or infertility in women!
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