Kaberamaido, 14 May 2015:- Uganda commemorated the World Malaria Day in Kaberamaido district with an appeal to communities to always sleep under Insecticide Treated Mosquito Nets (ITNs) and to test for malaria before treatment.

Hon. Sarah Opendi, the Minister of State for Health, in charge of Primary Health care commended the National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) and partners for the achievements made in fighting malaria. She said even if there’s still a lot to be done, Uganda had made great strides in fighting malaria. “We now have a case to make, to get increased resources to eliminate malaria”, she said. Hon. Opendi also launched the National Malaria Reduction Strategic plan 2014-2020 noting that it would be key in helping Uganda reach the elimination stage of fighting Malaria.

The World Health Organization (WHO) Country Representative Dr. Wondimagegnehu Alemu congratulated government, partners, health workers and the community for a job well done in bringing down the malaria prevalence. He however cautioned against complacency saying that "the gains are fragile so it's now that we should invest more and redouble our efforts in order to maintain the gains and improve further". He added that there is need to increase surveillance and report only confirmed cases in line with the WHO guidance of Test, Treat and Track.

The USAID Education Director Margaret Sancho applauded the significant drop in child mortality due to malaria, which she attributed to the efficacy and effectiveness of the initiatives put in place. She however said that there was still more to be done and government and partners should keep up the hard work.

The Director General of Health Services, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng said that the registered successes in fighting malaria were due to the extensive coverage of ITNS in Uganda at 90% and the Indoors Residual Spraying (IRS) strategy. She reported that burden of malaria prevalence had declined from 42% in 2009 to 19% in children under five years. She also highlighted the reduction in case fatality from 2% in 2010 to 0.7% in 2014. She also advised against complacency in sustaining interventions which could lead to a setback in the achievements attained.

Malaria is one of the biggest public health and socioeconomic problems in Uganda. The disease accounts for 30% to 50% of outpatient visits and 15% to20% of hospital admissions with approximately 16 million cases reported in 2013.  Over 10,581 deaths are reported annually. Reviews of the NMCP done between 2000 to 2010 showed that despite increased resources allocations to malaria control, over that decade, there was only modest decrease in the transmission intensity and burden of malaria.

Following a mid-term review of the 2010-2015 Strategic Plan, it was observed that while some indicators showed progress, others either slowed or showed no progress at all. The above issues required re-strategizing, re-targeting and a more accelerated approach to malaria control in Uganda. The Uganda Malaria Reduction Strategic Plan is the 5th national strategic plan to guide the fight against malaria in Uganda since the inception of the NMCP in 1995.

World Malaria Day commemoration attracted the participation of many key government partners in the fight against malaria such as WHO, USAID, Civil Society organisations, schools, political leaders and the media.

Role of World Health Organization in fighting Malaria

WHO continues to provide technical and financial support to fight malaria in Uganda. The focus for WHO in supporting the malaria control in Uganda is in providing guidelines and technical assistance in the adaptation of strategic plans and guidelines to suite the local context. For instance, WHO supported the Ministry of Health to design and implement a strategy used to successfully eliminate malaria. It is this strategy that is being implemented. So far, Uganda is still at the control stage before shifting to pre-elimination and finally elimination stage.

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1. A baby is tested for Malaria by officials from Malaria Consortium, at the function.

2. Left to Right Margaret Sancho USAID Dr Jane Ruth Aceng and Hon Sarah Opendi Ministry of Health Dr Wondimagegnehu Alemu WHO launch the Uganda Malaria Reduction Strategic Plan 2014 to 2020

3. Officials from ABT Associates that are implementing  Indoor Residual Spraying in Kaberamaido

4. WHO Country Representative Dr. Wondimagegnehu Alemu delivers his remarks