The people of the Central River Region recently joined the rest of the country to observe Africa Malaria Day at a ceremony held at Dobongkunda village in the Upper Fulladu District, Central River Region south.  

On the theme 'Counting malaria out', the day is observed annually throughout Africa with the purpose of increasing awareness about the disease on the African continent and ways of reducing the incidence. Addressing the gathering, Lamin Darboe, the deputy governor of the Central River Region said, world wide, an estimated 300-500 million cases of malaria are contracted every year resulting to the death of about 2.5 million children under the age of five.

He noted that in Africa, malaria is the leading cause of death for children.  According to him, the malaria burden with HIV/Aids and tuberculosis, pose a major public health challenge in the developing counties. He then observed that because of the dangers of this life-threatening disease, the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and other partners such as the Global Fund against Tuberculosis and Malaria, have greatly increased funding in activities geared towards malaria prevention and control.

He then informed the gathering that the government of The Gambia going by the Abuja Declaration Plan of Action and the Millennium Development Goals, have made significant improvements in reducing the socio-economic burden of malaria in the country. The event was characterised with cultural entertainment and Musa Camara of the region's health management team chaired the ceremony.