Clive Shiff's blog

Comment for Malaria Action Plan GMAP2

As a comment to Bart's Blog, I would like to add our thoughts as requested by the Secretariat. The document was sent in before the deadline, so I hope it was read, and raises some thoughts.

GMAP2 Document

Based on the consultative process so far (regional consultations, national and community level consultations, online survey responses, in-depth interviews, and a document review) seven areas where the GMAP2 document could usefully provide recommendations for action have been identified.

Pedro Alonso to replace Rob Newman at GMP

I am pleased to see that Pedro will take over the hard task that Rob Newman left. Rob was instrumental in bringing the Global Malaria Programme back to life, and now I would like to see it expand its influence. When one looks at the various malaria control operations in various countries and read the various blogs etc, it is apparent that there is a lack of coordination, and in most instances there are several agencies, donors, major players and national personalities operating.

Need for some effective coordination in malaria control interventions

Wherever malaria has been eliminated, success was likely to have been based on the interplay of a series of mechanisms. In the United States it may have coincided with the advent of residual insecticides, but there were a variety of factors associated with the success. These were seasonal changes, environmental factors, political decisions that affected where people could live, the advent of improved treatments and increase in wealth and improvement of living standards. The same can be said of Italy and much of Europe in the early part of the 20th Century.

A need for coordination of projects, donors and various players

I feel that we should start a conversation about coordination. I attended Malaria Day here in Baltimore last week, and one still hears people speaking as if all we have to do is send more nets to Africa! Africa is swimming in nets, in fact there are NO plans that one hears of to REPLACE (key word) expended of torn nets in anything but an ad hoc manner. Yet Anopheles funestus (resistant to pyrethoids) is appearing all over Eastern and Southern Africa.

Name of the parasite!

I have noticed several papers that make the name Plasmodium into an adjective plasmodial, they even capitalise the word to try and make the adjectiveback into a noun!
The medics have done this for uears, but it is INCORRECT we cannot make a name into an adjective. Imagine saying Cliveal to describe my hat!
Please all that referee papers be alert for this misnomer. If someone uses plasmodial in a paper, suggest the author take a simple grammer lesson and do not accept the slur on Shakespear's, (and my) language!

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