Malaria

Malaria is an infection that affects people worldwide with a wide variety of symptoms, ranging from absent or extremely mild symptoms to fatal diseases and death. Dr. Mellissa Withers, a professor of clinical preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, while focusing on global reproductive health and women’s empowerment has recently spoken to me about the disasters that malaria has brought and the many attempts at its eradication. With a history dating back more than 50,000 years ago, this infection has terrorized many communities and kingdoms until it was finally identified in 1907. Since its identification, many different health measures have been taken, which has saved countless people. Later in the 20th century, many countries bombed their land with insecticides like DDT to kill the vectors of the infection, mosquitoes. This allowed for developed countries like the United States to be free of malaria for the most part. While developed countries were able to temporarily inhibit the spread of malaria, they were not the countries that were at risk. The underdeveloped countries, primarily in Africa, were and still are at the highest risk of infection; however, they were unable to fund the massive use of insecticides to eradicate malaria. As a result of the selfishness of wealthier countries, currently, malaria is still rampant in many parts of the world. Because malaria is still present in certain areas, it is able to spread as mosquitoes are accidentally dispersed through human travel. Dr. Withers teaches global health and tries to emphasize on some of the ways in which inequality between genders and countries cause issues for everyone in society.