Malaria a major threat, says minister

Leonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter
Malaria remains a major public health challenge and a major cause of death in pregnant women and children below the age of five, Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa said yesterday.

He was speaking at commemorations to mark Sadc Malaria Day at Monde Primary School about 15km outside Victoria Falls Town which were also attended by health ministers from the region.

Dr Parirenyatwa, who is also Sadc Health Ministers chair, said 63 percent of people in the region lived in malaria prone areas with pregnant women and children under five at greater risk.

“Malaria remains a public health challenge not only in Africa but globally. According to the 2014 World Malaria Report, 198 million malaria cases were reported last year with 548,000 deaths. Ninety percent of these deaths were in Africa and 78 percent being children under five years,” he said.

The health minister said districts along borders such as Binga, Hwange, Mt Darwin and Mutoko among others had high malaria prevalence.

While the malaria burden may have declined from 165 deaths per 1,000 people in 2004 to about 29 in 2013, Dr Parirenyatwa said the disease still accounts for more than 30 percent of outpatient visits and 40 percent hospital admissions as well as one fifth of childhood deaths each year.

“That’s why we’re worried about malaria because it’s killing children and pregnant women,” he said.

Sadc targets a 40 percent decrease in 2020 and has made great strides in fighting the disease which competes with HIV and Aids and TB as the leading killer diseases.

Dr Parirenyatwa called for the implementation of people-centred programmes with close partnerships with the private sector.

“What we should do is very simple — indoor residual spraying and use of nets. We should standardise malaria fight in the region and implement programmes that benefit people. In April last year we carried out a successful campaign around all countries,” Dr Parirenyatwa said.

“However, the challenge is on funding which is why we are calling for partnership with the private sector and also using an integrated approach as we now have the rapid testing kits for malaria. In Zimbabwe in 2004 malaria burden was very high and incidents have been going down with the help of our partners and now we need to strengthen cross border cooperation to reach our target of eliminating the disease which is not only a physical health threat but also economic challenge.”