LUSAKA, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Zambia on Thursday launched a three-year personnel training program aimed at ending malaria, one of the southern African nation's leading causes of illness and deaths.
Supported by three cooperating agencies, the 6 million U.S. dollars project aims to save lives by empowering community health workers to test, diagnose and treat malaria.
The three organizations, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will each contribute 2 million dollars for the Malaria-Free Zambia program which will target about 1.3 million people in 10 of the most highly affected districts of Central and Muchinga provinces.
The three-year project will train and add 2,500 community health workers to the national health system through capacity-building programs.
Minister of Health Jonas Chanda said during the launch that the government was happy that the three organizations have joined forces to help Zambia fight malaria one of the country's major health challenges.
He said it was not possible for the government alone to eliminate malaria hence the importance of getting support from cooperating partners.
According to him, the government has been implementing various programs aimed at fighting the disease such as spraying of residential areas, provision of mosquito nets as well as sensitization programs.
He hoped that the launch of the project will boost the government's fight against the disease. Enditem
