MOPANI Copper Mines (MCM) has embarked on an anti-malaria programme covering
Mufulira and Kitwe in which over K1billion is to be spent annually.
The ambitious programme aimed at making the two areas malaria-free through
pro-active approaches was officially launched in Mufulira yesterday.
MCM special project manager, Penny Dickson, said the main thrust of the 500,000
dollars per year project would be the breeding areas of mosquitoes as the primary
source of the problem.
MCM would be taking an environmental manipulating approach supplemented by
chemical applications and health education to fight malaria.
'We will be approaching the problem at sources treating the cause and not only the
effects. As we are progressing we will clear the environment of the mosquito-breeding
ponds, there will no longer be the need to fight the adult mosquitoes,' she said.
Mrs Dickson noted that since April, Mufulira and Kitwe had recorded over 5000
positive cases of malaria, Zambia's leading killer disease, saying such alarming
figures had a traumatic social and economic impact.
'Each ill person ultimately impacts on our productivity figures. We believe that we lose
two-man-months a year as a result of malaria. The cost of a shift loss is
approximately 20 dollars and the cost of hospitalisation an additional 30 dollars a
day,'' she said.
MCM chief medical officer Ronald Simukoko, said there was need to reverse the
current trend where 65 per cent of all hospital attendances were malaria cases.
Dr Simukoko noted that the problem was so serious that an estimated half of every
1000 miners suffered from malaria annually resulting in 70 admissions.
'Economically, the problem is actually big as about 300,000 dollars is being spent on
treating lost man-hours annually,'' said Dr Sumukoko.
Meanwhile, MCM has assured that its environmental approach was not in conflict with
the recently launched Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) anti-malaria initiative in Chingola
and Chililabombwe which was arrived at spraying all houses.
She said both approaches were in line with the roll-back malaria (RBM) global
campaign being pursued by Government.
Mrs Dickson thanked Caltex, Sandvik, Tamrock, Truckmech, World Vision and Bell
Equipment for contributing to the MCM project.
The above is from the Times of Zambia 4th Nov, 2000 First Quantum continuing with the role of good corporate citizen |
