Collaborating for Malaria Control and Prevention in Liberia
A Keynote Address
By Syrulwa Somah, PhD
Executive Director, Liberian History, Education & Development, Inc. (LIHEDE), Greensboro, NC
Published: 15 May, 2007
LIHEDE National Malaria Campaign Message
By Syrulwa Somah, PhD
Executive Director, Liberian History, Education & Development, Inc. (LIHEDE), Greensboro, NC
&
Associate Professor, Environmental and Occupational Safety & Health
NC A&T State University, Greensboro, NC
Delivered by Mrs. Henrietta White-Holder
Regional Representative-LIHEDE
Delivered at
The 2007 Malaria Education Conference: Liberia A Case Study
Gerry House Lounge, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI - June 2nd 2007
Dr. Syrulwa Somah, PhD
Conference Planning Committee Chair, Madame Henrietta White-Holder and members of her committee; Mayor David N. Ciccilline of the great City of Rhode Island and members of his office present; Dr. Michael Fine, Physician-in-Chief, Department of Family & Community Medicine, Rhode Island Hospital & Miriam Hospital; Mr. Julius Kolawole, President, African Alliance of Rhode Island (AARI) and members of AARI present; distinguished members of the LIHEDE Delegation at this conference, Representatives of various Liberian and non-Liberian organizations present; Fellow Liberians and Friends of Liberia; Distinguished presenters, Ladies and Gentlemen:
From this famous lounge, I extend to you sincere greetings and best wishes, and, indeed, for permitting us the opportunity to share with you once more our message of hope against the prevention of malaria in our homeland of Liberia, and our motherland of Africa, in the name of the officers and members of LIHEDE. I also want to personally thank all of you—conference organizers and city officials--for making possible this historic gathering in your beloved state and community of Rhode Island. It is only through collaborative efforts such as this one that LIHEDE and the various Liberian communities around the U.S. can get the message across to all and sundry that if malaria can be controlled and prevented in the U.S. and other developed countries, then malaria can be controlled and prevented in Liberia and throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Again, many thanks for hosting us and for the tangible and intangible evidences we have seen of your unwavering involvement, in this campaign against preventable malaria that continues to infect our human family for nearly 50,000 years.
You know, as I look around this hall, I can tell you that I am elated to see an excellent group of people so committed not just to the cause of helping to prevent malaria in Liberia, but also a group of people willing to coordinate their efforts in helping to improve the standards of living of people in our war-torn homeland of Liberia. And I am elated because some of the very people I see in this hall today were also in Baltimore in March 2007, to participate in similar gathering of this nature hosted by the Liberian community in Baltimore, Maryland. I can also tell you that LIHEDE’s first consultative conference in Baltimore was a resounding success, and I have no doubts that this consultative conference here in Rhode Island today will also be a resounding success, given the time and effort put into planning this event, and the caliber of concerned individuals present here today to lend a helping hand to the fight against the malaria pandemic in Liberia. And I am so pleased with this gathering, and I hold deep respect and high confidence in this gathering, that I have chosen to exploit the collaborative spirit of this gathering by speaking to you on the topic: “Collaborating for Malaria Control and Prevention in Liberia.”
Indeed, I believe that while we have all resolved to defeat malaria in Liberia, it is only through our collective efforts—our commitment, cooperation, and collaboration—that we can actually prevent malaria in Liberia. I don’t see it any other way. LIHEDE cannot do it alone; AARI cannot do it alone, and no single Liberian community in the U.S., including the Liberian community of Rhode Island, can do it alone. We must all cooperate and collaborate to prevent malaria if we truly want a positive result from our efforts. For the moral test of any society lies in how we, as a people, treat the most vulnerable of our human members. And the most vulnerable human members of the Liberian society today are those persons afflicted with malaria, a curable disease that has been the killing machine in Liberia for a very long time. It is time for us to act and act now to prevent malaria in Liberia once and for all. Our people afflicted with malaria continued to suffer high fevers for days, and vomit until they have no more strength and stomach left. Malaria has often left our people dehydrated, thirsty, and sometimes too weak to tell day from night. Therefore, we must act now and act now to free our people from the grips of their single largest killer.
Yes, we must act and act now to prevent malaria in Liberia because, according to 2006 report by the Liberian Ministry of Health, malaria accounts for 21,500 deaths each year, while the cost for treating malaria and malaria-related illnesses in Liberia each year is estimated at US$40 million, a very high amount considering that the country is still recuperating from a 14-year civil war that destroyed almost every basic infrastructure in the country and torn apart thousands of families. Moreover, the World Health Organization lists Liberia as one of two nations with the higher rate of malaria in the world, noting that about 90% of the population of Liberia is exposed to malaria on a continuous basis. In fact, in the Liberian capital, Monrovia, where majority of the educated population and key national decision-markers are concentrated, more than 50% of all hospitals and clinics’ visits by patients are malaria-related, while, according to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Liberia, there are about only four functioning hospitals in Liberia with an estimated 237 physicians/specialists or 0.1 physicians per 100,000 patients. In addition, more than one of every five newborn Liberian children will not live to celebrate their 5th birth day due to malaria, while Liberia currently leads the world in highest newborn crude death rate at 66 deaths per 1,000 births. Indeed, with these kinds of statistics which continued to put much burden on the inadequate resources of both the government and the people of Liberia, it is now time to act and act now to prevent malaria in Liberia to help to lay the foundations for a better nation after the battle against malaria has been won.
Consequently, we must act and act now to prevent malaria in Liberia because if Liberia’s unemployment rate continues to stand at 85%, if life expectancy in Liberia continues to stand at 41 years for males and 47 years for females, and if Liberians continue to live on meager 30 cent per day as noted recently by former World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, if the average Liberian family continues to spends up to 35% of their income on malaria treatment and prevention, and if malaria continues to impact the Liberian workforce and infant mortality rates, then Liberians must understand that to fall short malaria prevention today would trigger the sensitive index of the post-reconstruction of the new Liberia development to slide into a curve of steep decline. Therefore, my friends, today, not tomorrow, we must act now through our collective effort to prevent malaria in Liberia before it is too late. Indeed, I think we will all agree that Malaria has become Liberia’s 9/11, Liberia’s nuclear weapons, Liberia’s AK-47s, Liberia’s tsunamis, Liberia’s terrorists, and Liberia’s holocaust that we must act and act now to prevent malaria in Liberia.
Now, let me tell you my friends, that malaria is not only a Liberian problem, but an African problem, and partly a world problem. And I say partly a world problem because nearly 40 or more years ago, malaria was eradicated in countries such as the United States, Britain, Japan, Germany, Brazil, Israel, Romania, Poland, Caribbean, and Panama, among others, thereby making the citizens of these malaria free nations to enjoy a better quality of life and working conditions than their counterparts in Liberia and most of Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, even though malaria is preventable, it still infects up to 500 million (about half a billion) people and kills about 3 million people worldwide each year. In fact, since 1972, malaria has killed at least 50 million people, which number of deaths amounts to about as many as deaths during all of World War II.
Ladies and Gentlemen, as I speak with you today, it is estimated that an African child will die every 30 seconds from malaria, which means that if we stay at this program for at least five hours, more than 600 children under the age of 5 and their pregnant mothers will have died by the end of this program. Indeed, this is how sad the malaria pandemic is in Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for 90% of the nearly 3 million malaria deaths worldwide each year. So what does malaria mean for Africa’s 750 million people, although malaria is not only a curable infectious disease but also it has been eradicated in many developed nations? However, the answer to what malaria means to Africa’s 750 million people is more death and destruction, unless we take action as a people. And we are taking action right now as we gather here to chart a course for malaria control and prevention in Liberia. Indeed, Liberia is part of Africa, and in the drive toward the prevention of malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa we can begin somewhere, and Liberia can be the base from which we can work toward the total prevention of malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa.
My friends, as I speak, a little child in Liberia or somewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa is unable to walk for months because of malaria. As I speak a little child is crawling around on the floor in severe pains from malaria. And as I speak some of these little children’ eyes are bulged out like a chameleon, their hairs are dried up, and their stomachs are all swollen because of the malaria parasite has taken over their livers. But worst of all, sometimes families with children or adult members inflicted with malaria don’t have the money and transportation to take their children or loved ones to hospital, and neither does the Liberian government have money to treat every malaria case. And I am a witness to what can happen in such a case of no money, no transportation, and no health center around. And I know some of you have heard this story before, but it is a story that motivated me to join this fight for malaria control and prevention in Liberia, and it is a story that can motivate you too to redouble your efforts in making sure that no other Liberian family undergoes the pains and sufferings my parents and I underwent by losing my elder sister to malaria. And this is why I need no invitation to join the fight for malaria prevention in Liberia.
First, I should tell you that I got my invitation to fight malaria long ago. Like many of you here today, I was born in Liberia. In my hometown of Gibi, there were more than 50 young boys and girls, including myself, who grew up together. And, as we grew up, it didn’t take too long for us to realize that there were endless threats from a leading killer disease called malaria in our midst. It was not uncommon for this disease to reveal its most insidious and deadliest effects. There was never a time that we would not wake to a crying mother or mothers who were beating on their chests and throwing their bodies on the ground calling for people to come to their rescue, because her child was on the brink of death or already dead from malaria. It was not an uncommon sight to see a mother wear her hair loose on her head and loss her appetite for food and water for days, because she was grieving for her child. It was not an uncommon sight to see a grieving adult finds her energy drained as she gets out of bed in the morning with fever and chill. Yet, again, it was not uncommon to get a message from another part of the country, bringing the news of the death of a passing child. I heard people crying so many times and saying, “Marpu is no more,” “Sundaygai is no more,” and “Nyonjaye is no more”! I also heard, “malaria you are not going to take my only child from me,” “Malaria you are not going to do this to me,” “Can anybody help?” But the results were always the same. I was there. I saw the impact of malaria day-in-day and day-out on the faces of these mothers and other family members. Some of the people malaria killed were friends I knew and played hide-and-seek and soccer with. Some were my classmates. Some were my big brothers and sisters with whom I went fishing. There were still others whose lives were so debilitated by malaria that they didn’t graduate from high school. I know the effects of this insidious disease all too well. Malaria control must be our cardinal virtue.
Yet, this is not the end of the story. Malaria has stolen several of my siblings, one of whose loss my mother never forgot until she journeyed to the Ancestral world. Her story was retold and retold many different times. My mother was a daring but loving individual and would do everything to keep us alive, but malaria is a disease that is in its own class of menace. When my sisters became pregnant we all were happy and became preparing for our next family member. But malaria had another plan. My sister didn’t recover from the malaria she had contracted. The parasites pierced her placenta, not only did it stop the blood flow to her fetus but, it deoxygenated her unborn. Malaria killed my sister and child because there was no doctor around to perform a cesarean delivery and prepare her body for proper burial. My sister was buried right on the spot. I didn’t have the chance to see her body to say goodbye to my dear sister. So, you see, my brothers and sisters, for some of you who think I have an ulterior motive for passionately engaging in this fight against malaria, here lies the foundation for my determination to take on this most horrific disease. What would you do if such a thing were to happen to your sister or someone you dearly loved? What would you do if you knew beyond all reasonable doubt that the disease could be cured or prevented but people were playing games with your life? What would you do, if you knew that the disease was the cause of instability, poverty, death and destruction? What would you do? And I ask—if you do not live by what you believe, then what are you living for? So, indeed, we must do what? Act and act now to prevent malaria in Liberia!
Yes, we must act and act now to prevent malaria in Liberia because Malaria doesn’t only help to kill our democracy and development, but it has also been the cause of agricultural dependence, poverty, instability, and inequalities in Liberia. When malaria steals our children and kills our democracy, it steals our future. When it weakens our nation’s health, it weakens our independence and prevents our prosperity. Malaria ought to be the easiest of the Big Three Third World killers to control because AIDS and TB are a lot more complex and harder to address, but this is not the case because we lack the ethical clarity, moral courage and political will power to use the most efficient malaria treatment options made available to us by modern technology. But we in LIHEDE believe that if we cannot eradicate malaria in Liberia due to political and ethical reasons, we can at least control and prevent malaria in Liberia. And this is our plea to you to help us in this fight for malaria control and prevention in Liberia.
We in LIHEDE have realized that fighting malaria in Liberia is a heavy bite for a single organization, so our objectives for these series of community-based consultative meetings are to ask of you and your support, talent and advocacy. The success of this CONFERENCE shows that our common goal to defeat malaria will not be delayed and or denied. We need a malaria free new world and a new world vision and solidarity of the unity of humankind. I am of the convection that with our collective and collaborative effort that involves all Liberians and friends of Liberia, malaria control and prevention in Liberia is possible. A malaria free new world reflects the triune of God in whom we hope intimate purpose and life. All the peoples of our global village belong to one human family. We must be our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, which is sacred charge and hallowed conviction to save lives, though we may be separated by lands, oceans, distance, language or culture. That's why I want all of you, all Americans, people of color, American Indians, Hispanics, and all the weak and poor in North and South America, in Africa, and Asia, and all over the world to sustain the pressure once and for all to get rid of malaria in our common world.
For the past three years, LIHEDE has effortlessly held conferences in the United States and the historic 2006 National Malaria Conference in Liberia to bring to the consciousness of the Liberian nation, people, and friends of Liberia the magnitude and economic impact of malaria in Liberia. One of the highlights of the 2006 Conference was an invitation extended to officials of LIHEDE during the National Malaria Conference by the US Embassy to witness the historic announcement made by President George W. Bush via satellite, naming Liberia as a focused country to benefit from the President Malaria Initiative (PMI) funds. As a focused nation, Liberia is expected to receive 2.5 million in 2007 and 8 million in 2008 to combat this insidious disease-malaria. Indeed, LIHEDE is very proud that its efforts led to the inclusion of the Liberia on President Bush’s PMI program, but the PMI assistance is just part of an ongoing effort to prevent malaria in Liberia, as Liberia needs more assistance in the fight to get rid of malaria in their nation.
Madame Chairman, Ladies & Gentlemen, malaria has the potential to deplete scarce healthcare resources in Liberia, which is not good for a country just emerging from 14 years of civil war, with unemployment over 85%. Besides, if malaria is not contained in Liberia, it will certainly undermine our new democracy because I believe no democracy can survive when people are dying like flies from a preventable and curable disease. I also believe that every person has a fundamental right to healthcare and a decent standard of living at least to enjoy some of the necessities of life. So I see this fight against malaria in Liberia not just as a LIHEDE fight, but as a collective fight by Liberians in Rhode Island, Maryland, and other Liberian communities across the United States, as well as institutions like Rhode Island Hospital & Miriam Hospital, the office of the Mayor of Rhode Island, and other friends of Liberia.
Consequently, I see the fight against malaria in Liberia as a shared vision and moral purpose that recognizes our mutual interdependence as a group of people with the same outlook of mind. A wise person once said that the ability to understand and establish emotional and moral commitments to purposes beyond oneself is the beginning of understanding how to live successfully in a free society, and I believe what the wise person said. I cannot overemphasize that we cannot make any inroads in the fight for malaria prevention in Liberia unless we believe, understand, and commit ourselves to that cause. And I know your patience and understanding so far during this conference have assured me that we are all in this fight together to establish the proper atmosphere for malaria prevention which enhances the dignity of human health. In invite you, all of you, for your Pavlovian response in this self-same noble undertaking before it is too late for Liberia. I thank you.
