Statement made on 28 April 2009 by Senator Yoine Goldstein (retired)
Hon. Yoine Goldstein:
Honourable senators, I will be brief. My honourable colleague has already said just about everything there is to say about this subject. I do not wish to repeat her comments. However, some things are worth highlighting.
In 2006, the World Health Organization reported that malaria killed almost 1,000,000 people. There have been hundreds of millions of cases of malaria. Those who are infected but survive become lethargic and feverish, and suffer debilitating headaches, nausea and vomiting. Children are the most vulnerable. Their small bodies and immature immune systems cannot protect them against this disease. We have recently acquired the tools to prevent this disease and soon we will also be able to provide inexpensive drugs to those who are infected.
Honourable senators, malaria-transmitting mosquitoes bite at night while people are asleep. Reliable research indicates that sleeping under an insecticide-treated bed net reduces malaria transmission from 50 per cent to 95 per cent, depending on the region and the proper usage of the bed net. From the perspective of prevention, the solution is simple: Provide bed nets at $6 each, the price of a drink, and lives will be saved.
With regard to treatment, as Senator Jaffer has stated, a global partnership has been assembled to allow increased access to expensive artemisinin combination therapies. This partnership deserves much praise for its efforts in increasing access to life-saving medicine, but it could do more if these medicines were available at a lower cost. As I explained last week, that availability is exactly what Bill S-232 proposes to do: create the regulatory regime that will reduce significantly the price barrier that stands in the way of delivering life-saving medicines to those whose lives are threatened.
When examining the effects of malaria, one can focus easily and understandably on the deaths caused by this disease, but we should not forget the consequences of this infection for those who are blessed enough to survive. The severe fever and headaches, the constant nausea and vomiting, the lethargic state of malaria sufferers prevent them from being active participants in their family, in their community and in their jobs. Workers cannot work; children cannot study; and parents cannot care for their family.
Sound evidence shows that reducing the incidence of malaria will act also as an economic stimulus and will lift malaria-affected countries out of poverty.
Renowned University of Columbia professor-economist Jeffrey Sachs, a name that has become a household word, has studied the economic impact of malaria. He concludes that direct losses resulting from illness, treatment and premature death amount to over $12 million annually in Africa alone. The effect on economic growth is much larger. One per cent of gross national product of the world, accumulating to slightly over $100 billion over a decade, has been the price of malaria to date. It is clear that in the case of malaria, investing in saving lives is also a substantial investment in the economic and social development of the communities of countries where malaria strikes.
Bed nets save children's lives and allow them to obtain an education. Bed nets save parents' lives and allow them to care for their children. They save workers' lives and enable them to work more, and more often.
As a result, the valuable resources of local governments are saved by eliminating the need to pay for the medicine to treat malaria infection. That saving translates into more money for other government priorities such as infrastructure development, education programs and other health care services.
Honourable senators, this year the Global Malaria Action Plan came into being. There is now a wide-ranging agreement on goals, strategies and activities. All partners in the fight against malaria have a guiding framework to work together in an efficient and coordinated manner to maximize their impact.
This path can bring an end to the unnecessary suffering caused by malaria, while helping Africans rise out of poverty.
April 25, 2009 was World Malaria Day. If we work together, we can bring help to people in need, and eradicate this disease. Let Canada be part of the group of states that makes this solution a reality. As policy-makers, honourable senators, we are tasked with tackling different issues with limited resources. The fight against malaria does not receive the attention it deserves. For the amount of suffering it causes, for the severity of its economic impact, and for the minute cost and large benefit that treatment will provide, surely honourable senators will agree that we must dedicate more resources to this cause. We must bring a recognition of April 25 as World Malaria Day as a symbol and as a metaphor for how we should help our fellow human beings.