In the 2022 article, the Rephaiah's mission is discussed, as well as the need for life-saving medicines for children under five years. On average, two children die every three minutes from malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa. Today, the World Health Organization recommends breaking an adult tablet into smaller pieces for treating children with malaria. However, it can be difficult as children may have difficulty swallowing or are unconscious due to the illness. Malaria can become more severe and can even develop into a life-long disease. It can also cause neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD symptoms and an autism spectrum disorder.
Another severe illness in Malawi is schistosomiasis, also called bilharzia or snail fever. Children under the age of five are usually not treated for this disorder as it can be difficult to grind the tablet for them and give the powder. However, schistosomiasis can be very serious in children, and can impair cognitive growth, which can result in children dropping out of school due to, among other things, learning difficulties. Also, girls with are infected with schistosomiasis are at a higher risk of becoming infected with HIV. Therefore, it is vital to treat this illness, both to help children overcome this disease but also to fight HIV.
A partnership has been established between Rephaiah and Kamuzu University of Health Sciences for the production of medicines, and one of the aims is to start the construction in 2023. Rephaiah‘s goal is to start a not-for-profit pharmaceutical manufacturing company in Malawi and produce medicines for these neglected diseases in children under five years of age. The drugs will be produced in Malawi to be affordable for families below the poverty line. In the USA, one treatment is equivalent to four months' salary in Malawi. An entity like this will also help the local economy by providing employment to Malawians at the company.
To read the whole article, click on the pdf below.
Article by: Peter Kumpalume, Adwoa Nornoo, Joshua Nthakomwa, Agness Mpoto Bandazi,
Precious Newalero Katundu, Baxter H Kachingwe, Hellen Chabunya, Harm Maarsingh
and Sveinbiorn Gizurarson
