It Is Time to Strengthen the Malaria Control Policy of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Include Schools and School-Age Children in Malaria Control Measures
Sabin S. Nundu,
Shirley V. Simpson,
Hiroaki Arima,
Jean-Jacques Muyembe,
Toshihiro Mita,
Steve Ahuka,
Taro Yamamoto
Affiliations
Sabin S. Nundu
Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Shirley V. Simpson
Program for Nurturing Global Leaders in Tropical and Emerging Communicable Diseases, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
Hiroaki Arima
Department of International Health and Medical Anthropology, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
Jean-Jacques Muyembe
Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Toshihiro Mita
Department of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan
Steve Ahuka
Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Taro Yamamoto
Program for Nurturing Global Leaders in Tropical and Emerging Communicable Diseases, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 852-8523, Japan
Despite a decade of sustained malaria control, malaria remains a serious public health problem in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Children under five years of age and school-age children aged 5–15 years remain at high risk of symptomatic and asymptomatic malaria infections. The World Health Organization’s malaria control, elimination, and eradication recommendations are still only partially implemented in DRC. For better malaria control and eventual elimination, the integration of all individuals into the national malaria control programme will strengthen malaria control and elimination strategies in the country. Thus, inclusion of schools and school-age children in DRC malaria control interventions is needed.
