Amalar, antimalaria drugs not banned -WHO

The World Health Organisation (WHO), the National Malaria Control Programme and the Federal Ministry of Health, on Tuesday, said that Amalar tablets and other antimalarial drugs composed of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) have not been banned for treatment of malaria.he drugs were said to have been allegedly banned from being used in the treatment of malaria, but this was dispelled by the WHO and the Ministry of Health at the celebration of the World Malaria Day in Abuja on Tuesday.The two bodies denied their ban and reinstated their efficacy particularly in the malaria prevention and control in pregnancy.The WHO Representative in Nigeria, Dr David Okello, who spoke on the issue yesterday during a press briefing to commemorate the World Malaria Day, however,stated that a ban should be placed on the usage of oral Artemisinin- based monotherapies, so as to reduce cases of drug resistance.Dr. Okello said the best way to treat malaria was through the use of ACT (Artemisinin-based combination therapy) and not through monotherapies and added that the above drugs could be used to treat malaria effectively.The world health body called for the removal of taxes and tariffs on malaria commodities so as to ensure that there are no hitches in the availability of the drugs.Okello urged research institutes to be on the alert against any resistance from malaria drugs saying that the monotherapies hasten the development of resistance and called that they be phased gradually out of the market.
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