By Shabibah Nakirigya
Malaria — related deaths and infections have been halved under the auspices of Malaria Consortium’s Malaria Action Programme for Districts (MAPD).
The five-year programme, which started in 2017, covered 53 districts in conjunction with stakeholders such as District Health Teams (DHT).
Speaking at the project’s official closure yesterday, Mr Sam Gudoi, the programme’s chief of party, said community approaches were key in promoting positive malaria behaviour.
“There was a steady reduction in the number of reported malaria deaths over the project period. There was a 49 per cent reduction in the number of malaria deaths from 2,142 in 2017 to 1,098 in 2020,” he said.
“In the final year 2021, there was 0.25 deaths per cent admission; although the National Malaria Control Division target was 0.4 deaths per cent in 2021.”
Other achievements
In addition, empirical evidence captures a reduction in case loads and negative cases treated, with just under 1.4 million pregnant women supported with Intermittent Preventive Treatment (IPT).
Long-lasting insecticidal nets were also distributed to nearly four million health facilities and 646,515 schools.
Mr Godfrey Magumba, the Malaria Consortium country director, said the programme has strengthened the surveillance capacity of DHTs. He further revealed that more than 100 village health clubs, which play an important role in educating communities about malaria control and prevention, have been created.
At the same event, which was conducted virtually, the US Ambassador, Ms Natalie E. Brown, commissioned the renovation of Wabusaana Health Centre III in Luweero District through the President’s Malaria Initiative/USAID.
Read the original article on Monitor.
