A recent edition of the Daily Nation, carried an article titled “Malaria rates drop by half†. Good news from Kenya does not come often, so I eagerly clicked on the link and read on.
With the news wires heavy with news of mounting rates of HIV/AIDs infection, poverty, death due to war and other misfortunes of Africa's legion dispossessed and diasadvantaged, this news was uplifting and welcome. Malaria was the number one killer in the Third World for a long time and its prevalence was only recently overtaken by HIV/AIDs related morbidity. Poverty plays a large role in the spread of many diseases in the developing world, not just in selecting which segment of the population is infected, but also which one is unable to manage such infections. Malaria is responsible for the death of approximately 1 to 2 million people each year, 90 % of this number being young children and pregnant women from sub-Saharan Africa. It is also the leading cause of anaemia among pregnant women. That this is unacceptable stems largey from the fact that Malaria is an easily preventable and treatable malady and should not at all be causing the anguish that it is across the continent. It comes as a relief then to know that the hand behind the diminished morbidity is both affordable and long-lasting unlike previous assailants of the malarial parasite. Insecticide-treated bed nets have been responsible for a major drop in the numbers of infections. This has led to the World Health Organization recommending that treated bed nets be distributed either free or highly subsidized to the poor people in Malaria prone areas. These nets and the repellent used to treat them are not expensive, but such is the poverty that cripples many of our poorest citizens that they cannot afford the $4.50 needed to buy one. For families with more than two or three children as is common in rural Kenya, this cost is far beyond their reach. For these mendicants, living on the edge, a stark choice between nourishment and the vital purchase of a mosquito net, almost always results in their neglecting to buy the crucial equipment that could very well prolong faimly life and save it the anguish of supporting and caring for a malaria victim. So it is that they will greet the World Health Organization proposals to mass distribute bed nets with great relief and excitment. With the newly published research still in the news, the Ministry of Health promised to carry out a net promotion and education campaign every year centred around different health facilities around the country. This is vital as the nets are in themselves merely an important element in reducing the sting of the malady. Along with the bed nets, should come such handy advice as draining stagnant water-pools . But even these are not a catch-all solution, and they are of limited use to those already infected with the parasite. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment are vital and basic elements of malaria control. Access to adequately equipped health centres is a matter of utmost concern for those living in rural Kenya. The socio-economic impact of Malaria is huge. The loss in productivity, and the resources used up in treatment and convalescence are truly enormous. With this in mind, even though the initial cost to the Kenyan government of an intensive and extensive campaign against the disease is likely to be high, reinforcing and expanding current progress will prove beneficial to the whole country in future. A permanent drop in the rate of malaria infection and the subsequent drop in the need for resources to be used in dealing with the disease, should see such resources made available for other causes, both health related and the wider campaign on poverty reduction strategies. That the elimination of Malaria from our list of problems is urgent, is further underscored by the fact that the very ares in which the disease is most prevalent are among the most agriculturally productive. The wisdom of the old maxim speaks out again, prevention is much better than cure and is less expensive in the long run too. With the 1 billion shilling donation from Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer - to be split with two other countries- the future should see even more progress and hopefully an end to the terror that the malarial parasite is in the poverty stricken Malaria zones.
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ress release February 21,2007 
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It's even more important to ask whether the drop in transmission & infection rates could be sustained or extended?
The fact is that Kenya is still located in a malaria endemic zone with notably high incidences of (anti-malarial) drug resistance and high infant morbidity & mortality rates of Malaria.
A simple (casual) evaluation of one of four key strategies by Kenya (penned in 2001), to fight Malaria, - use of insecticide treated nets (ITNS) by infants, young children, pregnant women, and at risk communities - shows that:
Whereas a target was set to have 60% of pregnant women and 60% of at risk communities (including infants & young children) sleeping under ITNS by the end of 2005,.....only 25% of the specified population slept under ITNS by the end of 2006 ( one year after target date).
Not much has been done to foster private sector growth in the provision of unsubsidized affordable ITN services; very little increases (not significant) have been made in ITN services by non-profit, social market organizations, and NGOs; and the public sector (MOH) has made less than significant efforts towards the same.
Hence the strategy is basically not being met. Of the other 4 strategies, not much goals have been met too. That signifies failure in implementing set goals under all anti malaria strategies in Kenya.
In fact, Kenya is one of the 17 countries globally, accused by WHO and UNICEF of failing to move "fast enough" in malaria control.
So whereas transmission rates and child death rates have dropped, we are still failing in our key preventive strategies,...thus there's still a possibility that infection rates could spike tomorrow.