Kenya calls for new approaches to eliminate malaria in Africa by 2030

Nairobi, Kenya | XINHUA | Kenya on Friday called for new approaches and effective strategies to eliminate malaria in Africa by 2030.

Mutahi Kagwe, Health Cabinet Secretary said the continent must focus on the prevention from the source and embrace the principles of primary healthcare.

“To eliminate malaria, we must start at the breeding sites where mosquitoes thrive. As such we need to spread awareness on the role of larviciding in the fight against malaria,” Kagwe said in Nairobi during the launch of the Great Lakes Malaria Initiative Strategic Plan in Nairobi.

Kagwe who is also the chairperson of the East African Community (EAC) sectoral Council of Health Ministers said that infection rate and deaths are unacceptable, adding that the region intends to follow in the footsteps of Cuba, Argentina and Algeria that has eliminated malaria.

He noted that the regional countries will embark on awareness creation on the role of eliminating mosquito larvae at an early stage and also focus on behavior change at the community level.

Kagwe urged regional countries to collaborate and start manufacturing medicines locally to reduce reliance on foreign manufactured malaria supplies.

Kagwe said that through the Kenya End Malaria campaign, Nairobi will start deploying drones to spray mosquito breeding sites around Lake Victoria basin in Western Kenya.

“If we challenge ourselves to invest more in these areas, we shall surely develop more advanced techniques to aid our cause,” he said.

The Strategic Plan 2021-2025 is expected to strengthen research, innovation and increase investment. The Plan outlines interventions that will address malaria intervention in the border areas of the six countries.

*****

XINHUA