Fred Noronha writes: One might be wrong, but in Goa, the issue of malaria seems to have gone off the radar of public concern. Even the enthusiasm that was visible in the early and mid 'nineties seems to have vanished.
Can we afford to be complacent over this? FN BTW June 16 is the day of the African Child. Large numbers die of malaria each year, and many get orphaned by AIDS. Fred, What kinds of drugs do they use to treat Malaria in Goa? In Mozambique (and possibly in most parts of Africa) the doctors give you a week's worth of chloroquine tablets and leave it to you to take your daily dose. The huge majority of people feel better after the second day (or just enough to get past the relapse period) and stop taking it. This has horrible effects on their health. Chloroquine is resistant to the falciparum strain of malaria--the most prevalent in Africa (and in Goa, I think?). There is a tendency among wealthier nations to believe that life's problems can be solved with enough money thrown at them, i.e. if we give Africa more money it will take care of the malaria problem. The U.N. has invested heavily in malaria prevention and treatment (and possibly eradication), enough to make a significant dent in the number of malaria-related deaths, but it hasn't helped any. Peter