Southeast Asia's next 'tsunami'

More than 160,000 people perished in the massive earthquake and towering waves that devastated countries around the Indian Ocean last month. Up to 100,000 more could die, according to health experts, if urgent steps were not taken in the stricken areas.

This time, the agents of death would be almost invisible to the eye. They would spread unseen, claiming their victims through stealth. The next catastrophe, say the experts, could be malaria.

Already, the World Health Organization has reported that seven cases of malaria have been confirmed in the disaster zone in Indonesia, where the calamity was at its worst.

Malaria is not the only threat looming on the horizon. Because clean water has become scarce, cholera, dysentery, typhoid and other water-borne diseases could break out in remote villages.

Malaria is not a disease to be dealt with lightly. Each year, an estimated 2.5 million people die from it, a million of which are children, all over the world.

More than US$3 billion have been raised for relief and reconstruction in the quake and tsunami-hit countries. We just hope a big chunk of this fund would be devoted to disease prevention. It would be criminal if the world allowed another 100,000 lives to be snuffed out before making a move. -- The Manila Times