The noticeable drop in malaria cases in the Kingdom, especially in the Southern Region, where the number of recorded cases have dropped from 19000 to 19 cases during the period from 1998 to 2006, in spite of heavy rainfalls, has lead the World Health Organization to praise the experience of the Kingdom, said WHO malaria consultant Dr. Anatoli Condrashen, who is visiting the Kingdom to investigate the situation in the Southern Region. He praised the experience of the Kingdom where a campaign against malaria had been launched by the Ministry of Health. The campaign involved all parts of the Kingdom, especially highly affected areas such as Aseer and Jazan, where environmental conditions and infiltrations from Yemen contribute new cases.
The World Health Organization, in appreciation to the efforts exerted, called the Kingdom to expose its experience to the other countries suffering from malaria. The call which was extended in Tunisia during an international meeting attended by a number of highly qualified consultants from all over the world denoted that the Kingdom has executed a compact strategy under the supervision of the Minister of Health himself.
Dr. Condrashen said the strong support offered by the Minister of Health Dr. Hamad Al-Mane and the MOH officials has contributed greatly in lowering malaria rates in the Kingdom, especially in Jazan, Aseer and Beesha. "His personal leading of spraying teams, in addition to the financial rewards and availability of spraying and lab equipment have all lead to the success of spraying campaigns", he said.
He warned against relaxing the efforts after reaching such good results, notifying that the factors involved in disseminating the disease are still there, especially along the open borders of Yemen.
"The Kingdom is one of a few countries which have worked with WHO for attaining malaria free Arabian Peninsula", he said. "It has formulated plans and conducted studies, which have been discussed at the executive office of the GCC ministers of health. The Kingdom also bears 50% of the combating cost in highly inflicted Yemeni areas, such as saada and Haja areas. It has offered Yemen during the last 18 years an amount of SR8.5 million, in addition to vehicles, equipment, pesticides, microscopes, and medicines".