Eradication of malaria calls for collaborative effort, stakeholders say

Dar es Salaam. Malaria is a leading killer and reports show that Tanzania is among four African countries that contribute to over half of all malaria deaths worldwide, suggesting collaborative efforts to eradicate it.

In a recent engagement, stakeholders said Tanzania should invest in research institutes, collaborate with foreign researchers, and also come up with herbal bureau centers to examine various herbs that can have potential in the treatment of malaria.

According to them, malaria parasites have become resistant to medication due to various reasons, such as overuse of antimalarial drugs and a high level of parasite adaptability at the genetic and metabolic levels.

"For instance, in the Lake Zone, medication for treatment of malaria has developed resistance in some patients, so it is important to invest in research to identify the cause of disease resistance," one stakeholder said.

The stakeholders were undergoing a training session on Fast Elimination of Malaria by Source Eradication (FEMSE).

The training was conducted by the News South Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine in China.

A medical doctor at Mwananyamala Hospital, Raphael Samuel, said it was commendable to see the government taking measures to invest in immunization and storage facilities for preserving malaria medication as a move that will eliminate malaria, but other interventions are required too.

China is a good example of a country that has utilized traditional medicine to successfully control and eradicate malaria cases.

China has utilized artemisinin from traditional medicine to successfully eliminate malaria cases and help Comoros control malaria cases.

"So far, we have a department of traditional medicine at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH), and we should make use of it to improve the outcomes of various traditional herbs in Tanzania. China has strengthened its effort to invest in traditional medicine," he said.

Good Michael, a clinical officer at Kairuki Hospital, said he was surprised to see that the Chinese traditional medicines discussed during their training, such as artemisinin, contain similar traditional herbs used locally in other medications.

"What we have learned here is that China has invested in traditional medicine; it is only that they have improved their traditional medication to treat people," he said after taking training workshops on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

Reports indicate that traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been a very important part of exchanges and communication between Silk Road countries since ancient times.

In recent years, following the progress of the new Belt and Road initiative, TCM has been playing a key role again in the silk road of health cooperation and the building of a community of common health for mankind.

TCM has now spread to 183 countries and regions, and 86 cooperation agreements on it have been signed between China and foreign countries as well as international organizations.