Kupang, Jubi – Asia Pasific Learders Malaria Alliance (APLMA) noted that Papua and West Papua Provinces is the largest contributor of malaria disease in Indonesia besides East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and Maluku provinces.
“From 80 percent of malaria cases in Indonesia, there are four provinces contribute the largest. Those are Papua Province, NTT, Maluku and West Papua,” said APLMA Chairman dr Andi Nafsiah Walinono Mboi in Kupang, Monday (May 15).
Nafsiah Mboi, a former health minister explained that there are 4 stages of malaria which is categorized as red as the highest, then yellow, green, to white which means free of malaria.
In NTT, there are six districts of highly endemic transmission of mosquito-borne diseases; those are Sumba Island, Lembata District, Ende, and Belu.
“There is no one area here which malaria endemic level is on white or zero or completely free of malaria,” said former Minister of Health of the period 2012-2014.
According to Mboi who is also a delegate of the country or Head of Asia Pacific Government, the issue of malaria disease has now become a global concern and seizes the attention of various countries around the world.
She said there are at least 21 countries in Asia Pacific that have endemic on malaria.
“Of the 21 countries, the three largest contributing countries in Asia Pacific are India, Indonesia and Myanmar,” she said.
From 2000 to 2015 the world countries has been agreed to unite to reduce the number of morbidity or death due to malaria, and has been reduced to 75 percent.
However, she continued, the pattern of treatment is only to control so once it stopped, the malaria is out of control.(*)
