60 districts move out of malaria epidemic

The Ministry of Health has said the malaria epidemic has gone down from 73 districts in October last year to now 12 districts that are still above the threshold. 

Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the Health minister, revealed  this yesterday at  the ministry headquarters while announcing another round of mass distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets for malaria prevention. 

“The drop has been realised due to a number of interventions that were deployed to reduce the incidence of Malaria in the districts. Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) that was deployed in the sub-regions of Busoga, Lango and Bukedi (Namutumba, Tororo, Budaka, Butebo, Pallisa, Bugiri and Butaleja districts) has contributed to the reduction of malaria cases, admissions and deaths,”  she said. 

To date, Dr Aceng said, malaria cases at the Out Patient Department (OPD) in the epidemic districts have fallen from 109,938 in March 2023 to the current 58,822, a drop of 46 percent. 
“There has additionally been a reduction in admissions from 6,216 to 3,772, which is a drop of over 40 percent,” she added.

Dr Aceng said they are undertaking rigorous and impactful measures to end the epidemic in the 12 districts. Among the measures is that they deployed pediatric nurses in 12 epidemic districts to conduct onsite mentorships for emergency triage and treatment for severe cases of malaria. 

“This has immensely contributed to reducing deaths in health facilities and at the community level. The ministry intends to scale up this to an additional six districts that are still reporting cases above the threshold,” she added.

Regarding the new campaign for the distribution of bed nets, Dr Aceng said long-lasting insecticide-treated mosquito nets (LLlNs) have been shown to reduce the number of uncomplicated malaria episodes in areas of high malaria transmission by half (50 percent), and to “reduce childhood mortality by up to a quarter (25 percent).”

“This year, the government with support from Global Fund and Against Malaria Foundation (AMF) is distributing 28.5 million nets with the overall aim of reducing malaria morbidity and mortality through achieving universal coverage with LLINs,” she said.

The minister said wave 1 distribution has already been completed in 16 districts and between July 15 and July 20, wave 2 of the distribution would focus on Buhweju, Kalangala, Kiruhura, Mitooma, Rubirizi, Sheema, Bushenyi, Serere, Tororo, Kween, Namisindwa, Soroti District, Soroti City, Lira District and Lira City.

“Between July 24 and August 10, all households in the districts of Mbale, Kaliro, Sironko, Rakai, Bugweri, Masaka, Dokolo, Kalungu, Kyotera, Bududa, Lwengo and Nakaseke will be served.  Distribution of mosquito nets will continue until November 2023,” the minister said.

Malaria kills at least 16 Ugandans daily and causes an estimated annual economic loss of $500 million (approximately Shs1.76 trillion) due to treatment costs and work time lost, according to data from the Health ministry.