PESHAWAR, Nov 21: Speakers at a workshop have underlined the need for more public awareness about causes of malaria. The aim of the workshop was to chalk out a strategy to effectively prevent the spread of malaria. The workshop was attended by EDOs of various districts of the province, experts from Islamabad’s National Institute of Health and representatives from Tama, WHO, Unicef, Paiman, GTZ and Save the Children.

Speaking as chief guest, Dr Jalilur Rahman, Director General of NWFP Health Services, stressed the need for carrying out proper research to pinpoint the causes of malaria.

“Malaria is an old public health problem,” he said, calling upon the participants of the workshop to prepare a proper plan for operational research about the disease to chalk out an effective strategy to combat the disease.

Dr Rahman hoped that the workshop would help a great deal in finding workable solution to the problem.

Dr Khalid Iqbal, Coordinator of Malaria Rollback Programme, highlighted the aims and objectives of the workshop.

He said that 40 per cent of the world population, mostly living in poor countries, was at risk of malaria.

He said people should be advised to spray kerosene oil over stagnant pools of water to eliminate the breeding ground for mosquitoes. He also stressed the need for using impregnated bed net at night so as to remain safe from the mosquito bite.

"Malaria causes acute illnesses to more than 3 million people and death to least one million annually," he said.