Cameroon’s government launches home-based management of malaria
9 October 2008
The Minister of Public Health, André Mama Fouda, launched a nationwide programme on home-based treatment on malaria. The MOH made known a new approach of managing malaria dubbed “Home-based Management of Malaria”. This was disclosed during a press conference at the Ministry of Public Health in Yaounde. CRTV’s Ayi Mbile reports.
The home-based management of malaria is a logical approach for primary health care that puts the community at the centre of all efforts to treat this ravaging disease. Over 15,000 trained community relay agents will be involved in the exercise. And theirs will be to educate, identify and treat simple cases of the disease at home using the Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies known as ACT.
These drugs adopted as a means of reducing resistance of malaria to single therapies will be made available to community relay agents in the form of kits. The drugs will then be served to public or patients at very affordable prices. Having been involved in previous health campaigns, these community relay agents are thus expected to known and recognised within their various communities.
According to health officials, the home-based management of malaria targets 80% of the affected population, adding that it would reduce the number of deaths linked to the disease as well as severe forms that arise due to late treatment.
