Professor Monsuru Adeleke of Osun State University’s Department of Public Entomology and Parasitology blamed Africans’ environmental attitudes for the ongoing spread of malaria, noting that the disease had killed 608,000 people in 85 nations.
Adeleke, who delivered a paper at the university’s 20th Inaugural Lecture titled ‘Unending war of man against mosquitoes and blackflies: A tale of two sacrificial lambs searching for survival,’ argued that vector-borne diseases account for more than 60% of deadly and life-threatening diseases affecting humans, with malaria being a major concern.
He stated that over 94% of malaria cases (among 233 million people) and 95% of malaria deaths occurred in Africa, with children under the age of five accounting for over 80% of all malaria deaths.
“Diseases carried and transmitted by insects (vector-borne diseases) account for more than 60% of all severe and life-threatening diseases in humans (Service, 1999). “Aside from death that malaria is responsible for, other complications and socio-economic retrogressions that include illness, frequent school and work absenteeism, abortion, and stillbirth are also other unfriended diseases to humanity.”
On how to address the problem, he advised the government and policymakers to use coordinated vector control techniques rather than a one-policy approach.
Adeleke stated: “The mono-policy that has been implemented throughout the years is not providing adequate outcomes. It allows the vectors to discover methods of escape the bombardment.
“Existing regulations on environmental cleanliness and pollution must be reinforced and properly enforced. Vectors breed in our environment, and eliminating breeding sites addresses 80% of the problem. “Attitudes must shift if Africa, particularly Nigeria, is to win the war against vector-borne diseases.
Inadvertently, many of our operations in Nigeria foster vector habitats. Professor Clement Adebooye, Vice-Chancellor of the University, emphasised the importance of mosquito management in Africa in order to minimise their spread.
“I’m sure that by strengthening health delivery mechanism by the government, the cause of malaria will be reduced in our society” , according to him.
