Sunday 26 February 2012

Hard talk:The fight against malaria could be long and tough

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
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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TFDA: Beware of fake malaria drugs

From The Citizen Daily, Dar es Salaam
By Songa wa Songa, The Citizen Correspondent

The Tanzania market is reportedly flooded with perilous counterfeit anti malaria tablets bearing the logo of the Kenya-based Elys Chemical Industries Ltd.

The Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA) yesterday issued a public warning against the sham product marketed under the name Eloquine (Quinine Sulphate 300mg USP) and packed in a bottle containing 1,000 tablets each.

TFDA director general Hiiti Sillo, said the bogus medicine stimulates Quinine Sulphate 300mg B.P, a product of Elys Chemical Industries Ltd. While the real product bears a brown label, the facade’s label is in yellow and red colours and bears batch number GE410.

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