Alarm in ministry as cases of malaria double at the Coast

From left: Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya, county health executive Athman Chiguzo and Assistant director of health Jackson Kioko during the World Malaria Day celebration on April 26, 2016. PHOTO | CORRESPONDENT | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • According to the 2015 Kenya National Malaria Strategy, the prevalence of malaria in the country has dropped from 11 to eight per cent but has double from four to eight per cent in the Coast region.
  • Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya said last year 282,000 malaria cases were reported in health facilities in the county, translating to 23 per cent of all outpatient visits.
  • County Health Executive Officer Rachel Musyoki said in a speech read on his behalf at Gongoni Primary School in Junju that deaths from malaria had dropped since 2008 because of aggressive campaigns by the county government and donor partners.

The Health ministry will map out areas in the Coast region most affected by malaria to better fight the disease, whose prevalence has doubled there.

According to the 2015 Kenya National Malaria Strategy, the prevalence of malaria in the country has dropped from 11 to eight per cent but has double from four to eight per cent in the Coast region.

This has alarmed the ministry because the region has in the past been successful in fighting the disease, that claims 4,000 Kenyans annually.

Acting Director of Medical services Jackson Kioko said the situation was particularly worse in Kwale County.

“We used to be proud of the coastal region, especially Kwale in the last five years,” he said during the commemoration of World Malaria Day at Baraza Park in Kwale Town on Monday.

Dr Kioko urged locals to seek medical treatment as soon as they noticed symptoms of malaria.

He also said more resources had been deployed for the diagnosis and treatment of the disease in the region.

Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya said last year 282,000 malaria cases were reported in health facilities in the county, translating to 23 per cent of all outpatient visits.

“We have an upsurge of malaria cases in sugarcane plantation areas,” he said.

Mr Mvurya said the county government has distributed 446,100 long lasting insecticide mosquito nets. He said another 32,398 were distributed to pregnant women and children below the age of one.

He, however, said these efforts were undermined by the low usage in the community.

In Kilifi, the county government has distributed 787,162 treated nets to protect the more than 1.5 million residents from malaria.

County Health Executive Officer Rachel Musyoki said in a speech read on his behalf at Gongoni Primary School in Junju that deaths from malaria had dropped since 2008 because of aggressive campaigns by the county government and donor partners.

“We have entered a new era in the fight against this ancient scourge. With child deaths from malaria declining since 2008 when we first commemorated World Malaria Day, the tide has turned and we are on course to break the back of this leading global killer of children,” she said.

Ms Musyoki said this has been made possible with assistance of donor countries and organisations like the Global Fund and World Bank, among others.

“Investing in malaria remains one of the ‘best buys’ in global health, with reductions in malaria unlocking human potential and economic growth. When counties lower their malaria burden, private investment flourishes, businesses see greater productivity, tourism barriers fall, and families and economies thrive,” she added.

She urged residents to go for regular malaria checks, saying most of them, especially pregnant women, shunned the free testing available.

“We will ensure that lifesaving mosquito nets, treatment and testing are available to all.

“It is disturbing that pregnant women, who have a higher risk of catching malaria, do not voluntarily go for malaria checks,” she said.

Early this year, a report by End Malaria Now organisation said more than 600,000 children in Africa, most of them below five years, die of malaria every year.

The organization’s chairman, Mr Richard Harding, said in February when he toured Riziki Children Home in Kilifi town that Africa, especially sub-Saharan region, still records high numbers of malaria deaths.

“In Africa, the number of deaths caused by malaria continue to grow, which automatically calls for individuals, NGOs and governments to come up with mechanisms to address the situation,” he said.

Mr Harding, the producer of the film The First Grader featuring Kenyan Kimani Maruge, was at the home to official launch the distribution of 4,000 mosquito nets in Kilifi County.

He was accompanied by volunteers from the Rotaract Club of the North Coast Medical Training College, County Health Executive Rachel Musyoki and other county government officials.

Mr Harding said the organisation, whose head office is in Los Angeles, US, has distributed more than 10,000 mosquito nets in Africa and expects the number to increase as awareness of the disease gathers momentum.

Mr Denise Tran, the co-chairman of End Malaria Now organisation, said the programme has been well received in Africa and its efforts has assisted in helping fight the malaria menace.