Inter-American Development Bank
facebook
twitter
youtube
linkedin
instagram
Abierto al públicoBeyond BordersCaribbean Development TrendsCiudades SosteniblesEnergía para el FuturoEnfoque EducaciónFactor TrabajoGente SaludableGestión fiscalGobernarteIdeas MatterIdeas que CuentanIdeaçãoImpactoIndustrias CreativasLa Maleta AbiertaMoviliblogMás Allá de las FronterasNegocios SosteniblesPrimeros PasosPuntos sobre la iSeguridad CiudadanaSostenibilidadVolvamos a la fuente¿Y si hablamos de igualdad?Home
Citizen Security and Justice Creative Industries Development Effectiveness Early Childhood Development Education Energy Envirnment. Climate Change and Safeguards Fiscal policy and management Gender and Diversity Health Labor and pensions Open Knowledge Public management Science, Technology and Innovation  Trade and Regional Integration Urban Development and Housing Water and Sanitation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Caribbean Development Trends

  • HOME
  • CATEGORIES
    • Agribusiness
    • Antigua and Barbuda
    • Barbados
    • BehaviorChange
    • Belize
    • Bermuda
    • biodiversity
    • Blockchain
    • Caribbean
    • Caribbean Culture and Media
    • Climate Change
    • Creative Economy
    • Crime Prevention and Citizen Security
    • Data and Knowledge
    • De-risking
    • Dominica
    • Dutch
    • Early Childhood Development
    • Economic Growth
    • Education Policy
    • energy
    • entrepreneurship
    • Environmental and Climate Change
    • Events
    • Extractives
    • Finance
    • Fiscal Rules
    • gender
    • Governance and Regulatory Policy Reforms
    • Grenada
    • Guyana
    • Haiti
    • Health
    • Health Policy
    • Hurricane
    • Hurricane Irma
    • infrastructure
    • Innovation and change
    • Intellectual Property
    • IWD
    • Jamaica
    • JumpCaribbean
    • Labor
    • Labour Markets
    • MOOC
    • Music
    • Natural Disasters
    • Nurturing Institutions
    • OECS
    • Podcast
    • Poverty
    • Private Sector and Entrepreneurship
    • Saint Kitts and Nevis
    • Saint Lucia
    • Saint Vincent and Grenadines
    • skills
    • Sports for Development
    • Suriname
    • Technology
    • The Bahamas
    • The Blue Economy
    • Transportation
    • Tourism
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Uncategorized
    • VAWG
    • Webinar
    • women
    • Women for Change
    • youth
  • Country Offices
    • Bahamas
    • Barbados
    • Guyana
    • Jamaica
    • Suriname
    • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Press Releases
    • Bahamas
    • Barbados
    • Guyana
    • Jamaica
    • Suriname
    • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Authors

Searching for Gold, Finding…Malaria?

June 7, 2014 by Ian Ho-A-Shu - mfgarcia Leave a Comment


By Maria Fernanda Garcia and Ian Ho-A-Shu

The hunt for buried treasure has long and infamously yielded fortune and misfortune in the same fell swoop. From Jason and the Argonauts’ haunting search for the Golden Fleece, to the 49ers’ mad rush to a then far-off and forbidding California, the search for gold continues to prove simultaneously fruitful and hazardous for those mining below the surface.

Today, a look at mining in Suriname reveals that the men gone to search for treasure often come back with much more than they bargained for. What are we referring to? Malaria. A potent and under-discussed disease that still runs through our region, we encourage you to learn more about efforts against it for this past World Malaria Day.

Invest in the future. Defeat Malaria. So reads the 2014 campaign slogan of the World Health Organization (WHO), who asks the development community to energize commitment to fight malaria with them.  In the homestretch of the quickly approaching Millennium Development Goal (MDG) deadline, the focus to reach MDG#6 continues with stark attention to sub-Saharan Africa.

We remind you, however, not to leave Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) out. Though the region is making impressive strides in the fight against malaria, at least 20 regional countries still face the threat of malaria prevalence, and the miners in Suriname are only an example of those plagued.

Malaria-Prevalence-275x300Captioned in Suriname’s national language, Dutch, the red in this photo indicates malaria prevalence.

An estimated 13,000 gold miners looking to find gold and make it “big” in the Eastern forested areas of Suriname’s interior often find themselves in mosquito-infested areas, as large standing water puddles created by mining activities bring the pests to congregate in their very workspace. Given their isolated location and limited access to medical services, many of these gold miners, a highly mobile population, choose to self-medicate—a decision which often compromises effective treatment.

So, what action is being taken? The IDB is partnering with the Global Fund and contributing to the efforts of the Ministry of Health of Suriname to provide rapid diagnosis, adequate and prompt malaria treatment, and selective vector control in these remote gold mining regions-turned-malaria hot-spots of the Suriname interior.

By year’s end and in partnership with the Global Fund, we expect to support the Ministry’s efforts to train 2000 Malaria Service Deliverers who will have better access to these remote at-risk miner communities, distribute 15,000 treated bed nets and reach 20,000 people with malaria prevention and health promotion messages.

Stay tuned to the results in 2015, as we too, contribute to MDG#6!

This post previously appeared on Partnerships For Development blog on April 25th, 2014.


Filed Under: Social Systems, Suriname Tagged With: disease prevention, Global Fund, Malaria, MDG#6, Millennium Development Goal, Ministry of Health, mosquito, Partnerships for Development, Suriname, tropical diseases, World Health Organization

Ian Ho-A-Shu

Ian Ho-a-Shu is a Senior Health Specialist in the Social Protection and Health Division of the IDB. He is primarily responsible for the implementation-supervision of health projects in Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Suriname. Prior to joining the IDB, he was a hospital administrator at a major hospital complex in Trinidad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and Law from the University of the West Indies and a Master’s in Business Administration from Andrews University, Michigan, USA.

mfgarcia

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

Subscribe

Search

Caribbean Dev Trends

We provide unique and timely insights on the Caribbean and its political, social, and economic development. At the IDB, we strive to improve lives in the Caribbean by creating vibrant and resilient economies where people are safe, productive and happy.

Similar posts

  • Six Ways Gold Mining in Guyana Can Be More Environmentally Friendly
  • Building a Future Without Poverty: Suriname’s Path to Inclusive Growth
  • Suriname weaving its Caribbean Food Basket
  • Greening Suriname : A Promising Opportunity
  • Suriname’s investment in ECD: A means to reap future benefits

Footer

Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo
facebook
twitter
youtube
youtube
youtube

    Blog posts written by Bank employees:

    Copyright © Inter-American Development Bank ("IDB"). This work is licensed under a Creative Commons IGO 3.0 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives. (CC-IGO 3.0 BY-NC-ND) license and may be reproduced with attribution to the IDB and for any non-commercial purpose. No derivative work is allowed. Any dispute related to the use of the works of the IDB that cannot be settled amicably shall be submitted to arbitration pursuant to the UNCITRAL rules. The use of the IDB's name for any purpose other than for attribution, and the use of IDB's logo shall be subject to a separate written license agreement between the IDB and the user and is not authorized as part of this CC- IGO license. Note that link provided above includes additional terms and conditions of the license.


    For blogs written by external parties:

    For questions concerning copyright for authors that are not IADB employees please complete the contact form for this blog.

    The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDB, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.

    Attribution: in addition to giving attribution to the respective author and copyright owner, as appropriate, we would appreciate if you could include a link that remits back the IDB Blogs website.



    Privacy Policy

    Copyright © 2025 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

    Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo

    Aviso Legal

    Las opiniones expresadas en estos blogs son las de los autores y no necesariamente reflejan las opiniones del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo, sus directivas, la Asamblea de Gobernadores o sus países miembros.

    facebook
    twitter
    youtube