Categories: Current Events

By now you’ve heard about the malaria outbreak in Jamaica. That is, if you’re Jamaican or someone that keeps in touch with goings on over here. When I heard about it, I was shocked. Malaria? That disease still exists? I thought we wiped that out along with smallpox and the Plague! According to Wikipedia, malaria is a disease found mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa and improverished nations. Great. Things were bad enough. Now Jamaica falls into that category. And the funny thing is most people infected with malaria are too poor to afford the antimalarial drugs. Life’s unfair isn’t it?

Turns out the main breeding site for the Anopheles mosquito, the carrier of the disease, was an open drain along Spanish Town Road. And I’m hearing that the goverment knew about it but did nothing. Hmm. The country is suffering because of the Government’s negligence…again. I tell you, they’ve turned closing the gate after the horse has gone through into a science. The Government has approved $30.2 million to solve the problem, and the UN has offered to help. Well how gracious of them! I hate when these foreign agencies give us a hand. Don’t get me wrong, the help is appreciated. But it hinders us from learning to solve problems ourselves.

People are lining up from all over the island to get tested, at a hefty price of $900 each. I wonder if that’s why they’re trying to scare people so much, to make money off their fears. Nah. Politicians are real snakes, but I don’t think even they would go that far. I don’t see what the big fuss is about. I’d worry if it were ebola or anthrax. But not malaria. I’ll just sleep with a mosquito net and “fughetaboutit.”