Accra, Sept. 22, GNA - Pfizer Pharmaceuticals has committed 15 million dollars to help to close the critical malaria treatment gaps in Ghana, Senegal and Kenya.

The commitment, which was done through former US President Bill Clinton's Global Initiative, would also help to develop and strengthen programmes for the effective treatment and management of malaria. Pfizer would achieve this through partnership with governments, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and other international organisations.

Mr Divine Akaba, Pfizer's Marketing Development Manager for Anglo-Luxophone West Africa, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Friday, said the malaria pandemic was responsible for 10 per cent of the Continent's overall disease burden and there was the need to help to fight it.

He noted that malaria was a leading cause of mortality in children under five years old. Malaria has also been estimated to cost Africa more than 12 billion dollars annually in lost Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Malaria is an infectious disease that consumes the red blood cells of its host, leading to fever, anaemia, among others and potentially leading to death.

He said though effective new anti-malaria medicines were now available, critical obstacles in accessing treatment still remained in affected regions.

"Unless patient education and the capacity for care are rapidly improved, new anti-malaria medicines will achieve only incremental health impact".

He said Pfizer, with partnership in the three beneficiary countries, would increase the number of caretakers seeking appropriate treatment for feverish children and to increase the number of children taking anti-malaria medications.

Mr Akaba said clinical studies were underway at 19 study centres in 10 countries in Africa, Southeast Asia and South America under the guidance of each country's Ministry of Health and Ethics Committee. He explained that the trials were to develop a potential treatment based on the use of Zithromax, an antibiotic, adding that the dose in combination with chloroquine, had demonstrated promising results against malaria in a pilot study.

He said malaria experts in the three beneficiary countries indicated that the greatest barrier to care in their various countries was patients' inability to seek and complete proper treatment regimes with many patients relying on traditional medicines and herbs. 22 Sept. 06