By :| Keywords : Malaria Day-South Africa- Health Minister
French.china.org.cn | Updated on 04-26-2020-
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The South African government pledged on Saturday on International Malaria Day to eradicate the scourge while fighting the pandemic of the new coronavirus.
“Today we commemorate the International Malaria Day,” said Minister of Health Zweli Mhize in a statement, noting that South Africa supports the global campaign “Zero Palu! I am committed”.
International Malaria Day is a global event celebrated annually on April 25, recognizing efforts to combat malaria worldwide.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has set 2030 as the year for the elimination of malaria.
“We are careful not to lose sight of our determination to fight malaria as we commit our efforts to fighting COVID-19,” said Mkhize.
WHO called for continued efforts to minimize disruption to malaria prevention and treatment services during the new coronavirus pandemic.
Failure would mean that the progress already made could be wiped out and that the number of malaria cases could double this year compared to 2018, according to the modeling analysis of the UN organization.
Mhize said many of the new coronavirus measures, such as community testing and testing, came from the malaria campaign.
He also announced that as of Saturday, the number of cases of new coronavirus in South Africa has reached 4,362, with 86 deaths.
The country has so far carried out more than 161,000 drug tests, added Mkhize. F
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