This was an advice given by a former chief medical officer Dr Gabriel Upunda in an interview with this paper in the African Media and Malaria Research Network (AMMREN) meeting in Dar es Salaam.

“We really depend upon the media to convey this common message because you have skills and ways of reaching the communities that researchers and medical personnel may lack,“ said Dr Upunda.

Dr Upunda, who is also the Chair of the Governance Council of Indepth Effectiveness and Safety Studies of antimalarial in Africa (INESS), said at three-day media sensitisation workshop on malaria that the fight is a joint initiative that must embrace everyone at all levels.

He said that Africa was lucky that the burden of malaria had been realised worldwide and that it was now being given its due attention compared to the past. Dr Upunda said media reporting should observe researches and prevailing policies to help African countries to make Malaria history.

However, when asked on contradictory statements from researchers on the use of DDT to eradicate Malaria, Dr Upunda said the history of malaria eradication in their country of origin used DDT and the country also has to use it basing on merits. Dr Upunda explained that as a result the continent has seen an upsurge of interventions aimed at fighting the disease in the recent years and that INESS was one of the new innovative means that aimed at producing the necessary information towards influencing anti-malarial policies.

INESS intends to conduct studies that investigate the effectiveness of health commodities in life setting contrary to clinical trials or drug development stages, he explained.

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