According to Jimmy Opigo, the Acting Commissioner Health Services, Ministry of Health, they are switching beyond focusing on killing mosquitoes, to focusing on individuals to adopt practices which keep them safe from malaria-like constant and correct use of mosquito nets, sleeping in houses with screened windows, early detection of malaria and testing before medication.
Government has said it is shifting its focus to households and
individuals to adopt practices that keep them safe from Malaria.
According to Jimmy Opigo, the Acting Commissioner Health Services,
Ministry of Health, they are switching beyond focusing on killing mosquitoes,
to focusing on individuals to adopt practices which keep them safe from
malaria-like constant and correct use of mosquito nets, sleeping in houses with
screened windows, early detection of malaria and testing before medication.
Opigo who was speaking at a press conference organized by the
United States Embassy at the US Centre on Malaria.
The Government has distributed over 27 million mosquito nets,
while 15 districts in West Nile, Karamoja and Busoga with high malaria prevalence
are being sprayed with IRS.
Opigo says that focusing on households and individuals will also
help sustain the gains from Indoor Residual Spray that has put pressure on the
mosquitoes. He says in places where malaria has been eliminated in Uganda,
mosquitoes have not yet been eliminated.
He says the new focus is to keep people parasite free by empowering them to
make certain choices which make it difficult for mosquitoes to proliferate.
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Kassahun Belay, the Resident Advisor Presidents Malaria Initiative (PMI) said
Uganda needs to employ a comprehensive intervention on malaria through use of Indoor
Residual Spray (IR), mosquito nets, preventive treatment for an expectant
mother and her baby, and proper case management through testing for malaria and
treating appropriately.
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Mame Niang, a medical officer at PMI says Uganda is making
progress towards the elimination of malaria. She says eradication of malaria is
limited by funding, adding that the four strategies required to get rid of
malaria are expensive.
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Malaria accounts for 34 percent of outpatient visits and 37 percent of hospital
admissions.
Uganda’s efforts against malaria are guided by the Malaria
Reduction Strategic Plan for 2014–2020, which calls for a rapid and
synchronized nationwide scale-up of cost-effective interventions to achieve
universal coverage of malaria prevention and treatment.
The Presidents Malaria Initiative is a US Government initiative to control and
eliminate malaria. Uganda gets an average annual budget of 30 million dollars
dedicated to malaria.
