Propitious economic trends

THE steady firming of the Lankan rupee against the US dollar should help in strengthening the widespread belief that the local economy is on the mend.

Whereas the devastation of last December was expected to take a heavy toll on particularly the country's economy and result in a drastic reversal of national fortunes, the consistent appreciation of the rupee against the dollar exposes the falsity of these beliefs.

While spectacular improvements in the local economy may not be on the cards, one could be certain that the economy is on a steady course to recovery and that it is aided in this healthy process by the incoming, steadily-flowing relief assistance from abroad.

Besides, our exports have apparently been growing despite the ravages of last December and this happy trend has also ensured a consistent firming of the rupee against the US dollar. All in all, the Lankan economy could be said to be in fairly sound shape.

We see this as a happy augury which should inspire continuous exertions on the part of all to take the nation re-building process forward.

A steady growth in exports would ensure increased hard currency earnings by us, which would in turn help disentangle balance of payments anomalies. Besides, enhanced foreign currency reserves would act as an insurance against any future economic uncertainties.

We may be experiencing some favourable economic trends but this shouldn't be taken to mean that we could let down our defences and abandon ourselves to a sense of complacency. To begin with, the re-building process needs to be forged ahead with and we must see concrete achievements in this area.

Besides, we need to exercise firm financial discipline and ensure that the funds received by us are well spent and not misspent or embezzelled.

It must be realized by all that the eyes of the international community are steadily on us. Let us not trip-up in this rebuilding exercise by squandering the funds that are left in our charge.

It couldn't be emphasized enough that everyone handling these funds at all points of the chain of authority should be held accountable for the judicious and correct use of these funds.

Yesterday we commented on the propitious signs for a resumption of the peace effort and take this opportunity to emphasize that all would be lost if the foundation is not laid now for a stable and just peace. We call on President Kumaratunga to go steadily ahead in this great endeavour of bringing peace to this bleeding land.

It must be also remembered that the country ought to labour as one man to ensure a full retrieval of all our fortunes.

Fighting malaria

MALARIA - the very word sends shivers down one's spine. Now, the latest research studies indicate that it is more prevalent than previously thought.

At least half a billion cases of malaria occur each year, 50 per cent more than is estimated by the World Health Organisation (WHO), and the disease is far more serious in Southeast Asia.

These findings have been disclosed by an international team of epidemiologists who believe the WHO's malaria estimates are so disastrously wide of the mark that a global attempt to control the mosquito-borne disease by 2010 is at threat.

The UN agency estimates more than a million people are killed by malaria each year, and at least 300 million acute cases of the disease occur annually.

The new study suggests that in 2002, 2.2 billion people - more than a third of the world's population - were potentially exposed to the pernicious malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum. It puts the number of clinical infections at a "conservative" 515 million cases per year.

Malaria can be fatal - it can kill by destroying red blood cells, causing anaemia, or clog the blood capillaries that provide oxygen to the brain, a condition called cerebral malaria. The young, elderly and pregnant women and their foetus are most at risk.

These figures suggest that malaria is far from being subdued, especially in the poorer regions of the world. Sri Lanka has a commendable record of keeping the disease in check, but more should be done. A concerted international campaign must be launched to control the disease.

The research, published on Thursday in the British weekly science journal Nature, is an eye-opener for health authorities. Accurate statistics are vital in the fight against malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases. These revelations should spur medical authorities to expedite research new anti-malarial drugs and possibly a vaccine.

The cheapest drug available, chloroquine, is losing its effectiveness because Plasmodium falciparum, the most dangerous malarial parasite, has become resistant to it.

This study is a blunt message for the Roll Back Malaria initiative, launched in 1998 with the aim of halving the burden of malaria by 2010.

As the authors of the study point out, not knowing the size of the problem limits our ability to articulate how much money is needed to tackle the problem and not knowing where the problem is located means one can't spend wisely.

However, prevention is still better than cure. Draining stagnant pools and water butts, where mosquitoes breed, and using insecticide-treated mosquito bed netting can stop more than half of malaria transmissions in high-risk areas. Clearly, the world has a long way to go before malaria is eradicated.