WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1843/96 by Gerardo FERNÁNDEZ-ALBOR to the Commission. Community contribution to action to combat mosquito-borne infectious diseases
Date: 1996-07-05
Institutions: European Parliament, FERNANDEZ ALBOR
Subjects: EU aid, European Development Fund, World Health Organisation, cooperation policy, developing countries, fight against insects, health policy, infectious disease, tropical disease













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91996E1843

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1843/96 by Gerardo FERNÁNDEZ-ALBOR to the Commission. Community contribution to action to combat mosquito-borne infectious diseases  


Official Journal C 356 , 25/11/1996 P. 0102 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1843/96 by Gerardo Fernández-Albor (PPE) to the Commission (5 July 1996)Subject: Community contribution to action to combat mosquito-borne infectious diseasesAccording to the WHO's annual report on infectious diseases, the mosquito is 'public enemy number one'. Of the 17.3 m persons who died of infectious diseases last year, 13% were infected by mosquitoes.Mosquitoes transmit malaria, yellow fever and dengue, as well as lymphatic filariasis, Japanese encephalitis, river blindness and Leishmaniasis. Most of the victims of mosquito bites were children.Given that the mosquito is the scourge of numerous developing countries, many of which are directly linked to the EU by aid agreements, and considering that the WHO itself stresses in the new report that many of these infectious diseases could be controlled at low cost, can the Commission state how much aid it grants for the eradication of the above mosquito-borne infectious diseases, and what proposals it has for action jointly with the WHO to put an end to this health problem, for which purpose substantial expenditure would not be required?Answer given by Mr Pinheiro on behalf of the Commission (6 September 1996)While the prevalence of mosquito-borne diseases is indeed very high, we would point out that leishmaniasis and onchocerciasis (river blindness) are carried by flies - the Phlebotomus sandfly and the Simulium blackfly respectively.The Commission's activities in the healthcare field reflect the objectives and priorities set out in its 1994 Communication to the Council and Parliament entitled 'The Community and the Member States' Policy on Cooperation with the Developing Countries in the Field of Health'. ((COM(94) 77 final. )) Those objectives include helping developing countries frame and implement healthcare policies having regard to the need both to create an environment favourable to health and to support the reform of healthcare systems, with a view to improving their quality and making them more accessible.Community measures to improve the fairness and performance of healthcare systems include support for the development of comprehensive methods and resources conducive to the prevention and treatment of mosquito-borne infectious diseases. The Commission is working on programmes of this type in ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) and south-east Asian countries. Under the seventh European Development Fund alone ECU 300 million was committed at the end of last year to support healthcare programmes in ACP countries.The body in the front line of efforts to combat disease - including vector control - is the World Health Organization. The Commission works along with the WHO in various specialist forums and in individual countries where it sponsors healthcare programmes.