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世界疟疾日

2010-04-25

联合国儿童基金会于「世界疟疾日」(25/4)唿吁全球推行疟疾防预工作

全球每年有达850,000人死于蚊叮,当中近九成来自非洲撤哈拉周边地区,亦是当地致命率最高的一个原因。保守估计,在撤哈拉一带每30秒就有一名儿童死于疟疾,当中大部分死者均少于5岁。

疟疾是一种可致命的严重疾病,主要透过疟蚊传染,是儿童的大敌。由于儿童的免疫力较弱,一旦被疟蚊叮中,体内的免疫力並不足以抵抗疟疾,病菌便会迅速扩散,导致昏迷,甚至死亡。据此,联合国儿童基金会唿吁全球一同打击疟疾,全面推行疟疾防预工作,拯救数以万计的生命。

A baby boy sleeps at home under protective netting, to reduce his exposure to malaria, in the village of Essaout in the south-western Ziguinchor Region. A girl sits nearby. Malaria, transmitted by mosquitoes, causes nearly 30 per cent of all child deaths in Senegal. UNICEF supports the distribution insecticide-treated mosquito nets, as well as preventative treatment and care in communities and at health facilities. In June 2007 in Senegal, young people comprise nearly half of the more than 12 million inhabitants but persistent poverty and chronic food insecurity continue to threaten children's welfare and growth. Easily preventable diseases are responsible for a large number of child deaths, and health and nutrition programmes are hampered by a lack of funds and trained personnel. Still, Senegal is making progress in the areas of nutrition, safe water access and education, devoting 50 per cent of its national budget to education and health services. Overall primary school enrolment has increased from 71.6 per cent of eligible children in 2001/2002 to 82.2 per cent in 2004/2005. And the gap between boys and girls attending school has narrowed from 11 to 4 per cent, though regional disparities persist - with the gap as high as 20 per cent in some areas. To help sustain progress in education, UNICEF works with the Government and diverse national and international partners to support an integrated package of health and child protection interventions for education, as well as for early childhood development. Initiatives include: teacher-training on child-centred methods, life-skills and HIV/AIDS education; peer education and vocational and life-skills training for adolescents; installation of safe water and sanitation facilities in schools, including separate latrines for girls and boys; health and nutrition programmes; curriculum development in Koranic schools; and non-formal education projects for vulnerable children. UNICEF also supports other health, nutrition and protection programmes, including to end female genital mutilation/cutting and to promote mine-risk education in the conflict-affected, south-western Casamance area (consisting of Ziguinchor and Kolda Regions).
On 2 March, women and their children rest on beds in a UNICEF-supported therapeutic feeding centre in the eastern town of Goz Beïda, Ouaddaï Region. Mosquito nets hang behind them. One woman (right) and her child are refugees from Sudans Darfur Region. From 28 Feuary to 6 March 2010, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Mia Farrow visited Chad to raise awareness of the importance of immunizing children against polio. Her visit coincided with the 6 March launch of a national immunization campaign aimed at 2.2 million children under five. It is one of 16 synchronized polio vaccination campaigns that were being launched throughout West Africa on that date. Polio cases in Chad are of particularly concern because the country has been a major conduit for the diseases spread to other countries. Between 2004 and 2006, an outeak spread from Chad to Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Indonesia. This strain of poliovirus originated from Nigeria, one of four countries in the world where the disease is still endemic. A 2007 outeak, also originating in Nigeria, continues to infect Chadian children, in large part because of poor immunization coverage. Most cases in Chad have occurred in NDjamena, the capital, where more than half of all children are routinely missed in vaccination campaigns. Ms. Farrow met with government officials, representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, and local leaders, and visited polio vaccination teams to support the campaign. She also visited a displacement camp in the eastern town of Goz Beïda and a therapeutic feeding centre in the western city of Mao, and attended the campaigns launch ceremony in NDjamena. The synchronized campaigns are supported by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which is spearheaded by WHO, Rotary International, the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and UNICEF. The initiative is also supported by diverse governments, the European Commission, NGOs and other partners.

对抗疟疾好处多:

  •            减少疟疾感染率,有助减低各地健康院需求紧张的压力;
  •            疟疾是导致爱滋病患者死亡的一大主因,成功控制疟疾散播,变相可减少爱滋病患者的死亡率;
  •            营养不良的儿童减染疟疾,致命的风险较一般儿童更高。因此有效控制疟疾传染,可同时减少儿童营养不良的死亡率;
  •            预防疟疾,更有助提升孕妇及婴儿的健康。
联合国儿童基金香港委员会会唿吁全球各界,一同对抗疟疾,全面推行疟疾防预工作,拯救数以万计的生命。参与联合国儿童基金会「儿童之友」月捐计画,每月捐出港币$100,足够为正受疟疾威胁的人士购置两个蚊帐,有效控制疟疾传播。