Health officials and experts from 11 English-speaking Southern African countries are meeting in Blantyre in the Regional Training of Trainers workshop on the domestication of the southern African Development Community (Sadc) minimum standards for malaria fight.
In his opening remarks at the workshop on Monday, principal secretary in the Ministry of Health Chris Kango’mbe said the fact that Malaria is a disease that cuts across borders is enough for Sadc countries to combat it together.
“This training provides a forum for Malawi to work with other Sadc member States in the establishment of efficient mechanisms for the effective control of malaria in the region and co-operate and assist one another in reducing the malaria prevalence,” he said.
The workshop, which winds up this Friday, has been organised by the College of Medicine and the Malaria Alert Centre with support from the African Development Bank and the Sadc secretariat.
Malaria Alert Centre director Don Namathanga said some countries in Sadc region have achieved various transmission levels in malaria fight; hence, the need for concerted efforts in eradicating the disease.
“Some countries such as Lesotho, Seychelles and Mauritius have low transmission levels and their challenge is to make sure that there are no new transmissions coming from neighbouring countries,” he said.
