Govt plans to eliminate malaria by 2030
Ministry of Health Principal Secretary Charles Mwansambo has called on parents and guardians to vigilantly follow malaria preventive measures to eliminate the disease by 2030.
He said this in Mchinji on Tuesday when he launched the malaria vaccine rollout which is targeting 300 030 children in 11 districts.
Mwansambo said the use of mosquito nets and spraying of chemicals to reduce the spread of mosquitoes is essential as Malawi has improved in reducing malaria deaths.
He said: “If you look at 2016 figures, we are at 23 deaths per 100 000 people and according to last year’s figures, we are at 12 deaths for every 100 000 people, but that is still significant.
“So, we want to eliminate malaria and that’s the purpose of the introduction of the vaccine, to supplement efforts to achieving the 2030 malaria elimination goal.”
Mwansambo said the vaccine will be given out four times to eligible children to ensure effective prevention.
He said they are targeting under-five children because they are at a high risk of dying unlike adults.
World Health Organisation country representative Neema Kimambo commended the introduction of the vaccine, saying it is a step forward to eliminate malaria in the country.
She said: “This is an important step towards the elimination of malaria. As we said, the vaccine itself is not a silver bullet, but it is part of the combination of all interventions.
“We have started with 11 districts because there is limited stock of the vaccine, but we will cover the full population of the targeted districts.”
Programmes for Appropriate Technology in Health Malaria Vaccine Implementation programme director Scott Gordon said they have provided the ministry with technical support, working with Malawian researchers in evaluating Malawi’s experience with the vaccine to implement a successful pilot project.
