‘Energy cannot be created or destroyed but may be converted from one form to another’ is the statement that defines the fundamental law of Energy. Be it the renewable forms of energy or the traditional Oil & Gas forms, Energy is never really destroyed or created; little wonder when a human being losses energy from work, he is expected to replenish that energy from the appropriate supply of food (fuel) and from rest - very much like any engine.

However there can be leakages of energy from any engine so by extension there can be the same with the human being. The ratio of energy leakage in comparison with work done when expressed as a percentage is how efficiency is measured. One of those sources of leakage of energy for the human being is ill-health and perhaps the most significant health treat in this part of the world is plain old MALARIA.

It is on the heels of this that Energia Today became a guest of Stanbic IBTC bank, Friends Africa, the Lagos State ministry of Health, the Nigerian business Coalition against AIDS and the football stars Emmanuel & Celestine Babayaro at a forum where they sought to run minds as part of calculated efforts to forge a common front in the battle against malaria. Sola David-Bora, who was introduced as the deputy CEO of the bank highlighted the impact of malaria on the productivity of the bank and the altruistic drive ho help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as some of the fundamental reasons for Bank’s commitment to the malaria crusade. There is also the other business angle where through Liberty Blues (www.libertyhealthblue.com), a subsidiary of the group, they are able to take the malaria bull by the horns all indicative of a holistic approach to handling the malaria scourge.

In a similar vein, Dr Akudo Ikemba of Friends Africa reiterated some of the intriguing statistics on maternal and infant mortality and the insidious role that malaria plays in it. As you may be aware, Friends Africa is a Pan-African organization which works to mobilize support for the fight against AIDS. The target is every sector that can aid in overcoming the pandemic, including civil society, the private sector and government. Friends Africa's work supports the fight against the AIDs pandemic with emphasis on the Global fund: a $9.6 billion fund that is a key funding mechanism in the fight.

There was also the Nigerian Business Coalition Against AIDS which started as a baby of the former Nigerian President – Olusegun Obasanjo some 8 years ago. The primary interest here is that Malaria is seen as an opportunist infection in the AIDS patient which many times end up being fatal. In simple theres the organisation is a private sector response to the growing challenges of HIV & AIDS and in the process ensuring the rights and opportunities for employees infected or affected by HIV. The politician in the representative of the Lagos State government was quite visible. Her first statement was that “Lagos state has taken the lead in the eradication of Malaria. Now that is a statement that can elicit a million questions.

Perhaps the most practical contribution came from the football stars Emmanuel & Celestine. While Celestine called in, Emmanuel was present in flesh and blood. He indicated his knowledge of the intricacies of the disease and its causative agents. Something he believes he gained while growing up in the hood and ghettos as is the case with most footballers the world over.

The concern from Energia Today is how much advocacy has been done in the rural areas? These are the places where even the more obvious symptoms of malaria as treated as the resultant effects of offences to the gods! Equally significant is the need to break the life cycle process of the mosquito. This cycle of the mosquito cannot be complete without stagnant water. The water can range in quality from pond water to sewage effluent and it can be in any container imaginable. What’s more, most female mosquitoes have to feed on an animal and get a sufficient blood meal before she can develop eggs. If they do not get this blood meal, then they will die without laying viable eggs.

So the million dollar question is what is being done to break this life cycle? Perhaps the solution to the question will move efficiency in the human engine to 90% and ensure the adequate conservation of energy.