Malaria incidences drop, says Kalirani

Malawi Minister of Health  Jean Kalirani  on Thursday told Parliament that malaria cases in the country have drastically dropped.

Presenting her ministerial statement, Kalirani attributed this to the efficient distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets across the country.

Said Kalirani: “Despite the disease continuing to be a significant public health challenge for Malawi and accounting for 22 percent of all in-patient deaths in the 2013/14 fiscal year, the incidences of malaria have gone down from 43 percent in 2010 to 33 percent in 2014.  This has been achieved through distribution of 1.56 million insecticide-treated [ITNs] mosquito nets annually.”

According to Kalirani, the percentage of pregnant women using  nets has also increased from 15 percent in 2004 to 66 percent in 2014.

Furthermore, over 66 percent of the under-five children are also sleeping under the treated nets.

She said: “Government has realised the importance of sleeping under treated nets and efforts are continuing to be undertaken. Currently,  we are conducting indoor residual spraying in selected districts in Malawi, especially along the lakeshore where malaria prevalence is high. So far, over 80 percent of the houses have been reached.”

The minister also hailed government efforts on cholera as there have been no reported cases for three years now.