13 October 1999
Ministers from Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa will sign the Lubombo Spatial Development Initiative Protocol on Malaria Control on Thursday 14 October 1999 in Johannesburg to launch of the Lubombo Malaria Control Programme.
This historic agreement between the trilateral alliance countries in the Lubombo SDI will pave the way to the foundation for a coordinated R40-million programme over five yeaars on malaria, providing protection for rural residents and thereby removing one of the major obstacles to the development of a vibrant regional tourism economy.
The existing rates of malaria in the Lubombo region (Northern KwaZulu Natal, Eastern Swaziland, Southern Mozambique) is one of the major causes for continued underdevelopment and poverty.
This year South Africa has recorded more than 32 000 cases of malaria, with more than 20 000 of these cases being recorded from KwaZulu Natal.
The Protocol will be signed on Thursday 14 October 1999
Venue: the Jacaranda Room at the Sandton Sun, Johannesburg
Time: 12h00 to 14h30
Media wishing to attend please RSVP to: Didi Moyle 082 808 5108.
"Malaria which had been eliminated or effectively suppressed in many parts of the world, is undergoing a resurgence. It is a public health problem today in more than 90 countries inhabited by some 2,4000 million people – 40 percent of the world’s population. Malaria is estimated to cause up to 500 million clinical cases and 2.7million deaths each year. Every 30 seconds, a child somewhere dies of malaria. The global effects of the disease the then public health and productivity on a broad scale and impede the progress of many countries toward democracy and prosperity." Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (1996).