Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has lauded the government’s effort in fighting Malaria through combined efforts with county governments, local communities, and developmental partners.
The health CS said Kenya has been able to reduce the malaria burden by at least 50 percent from a prevalence of 11 percent in 2010 to 6 percent in 2020.
The Health boss further revealed that the government had provided Ksh 1.2 billion for the procurement of malaria diagnosis and treatment commodities in the last one year.
Kagwe in his speech read by Health CAS Dr. Rashid Aman, at a Nairobi hotel on Wednesday during the World Malaria Day media briefing breakfast stated that, the ministry’s collaboration with different partners has enabled the country to register over 14 million malaria diagnostic tests conducted and five million cases of malaria treated.
“In the prevention of malaria, over 324,000 pregnant women living in malaria-endemic areas of the lake and coast endemic counties received Intermittent Preventive Treatment for malaria during pregnancy,” said the CS.
The ministry in its efforts to reduce malaria, health CS said, between May and December 2021, 16 million Long Lasting Insecticide Treated Nets (LLIT) were distributed to households in 27 Counties with the highest burden of malaria.
He further explained that the nets provide protection from malaria to an estimated 25 million men, women, pregnant women and children sleeping under these nets every night.
“Further, the Ministry distributed 1.8 million LLIT bednets in 36 counties to pregnant women and children under a year old who are the groups most vulnerable to adverse outcomes of malaria infection,” said Kagwe.
The CS also said that the current program of Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) of households in Migori and Homa Bay counties which offers protection to 2.1 million residents will soon be extended to other counties.
Kagwe said that to date 275,000 Kenyan children have received at least one out of the four scheduled doses of the malaria vaccine while over 45,000 children have received their full course of four doses of the vaccine.
Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites transmitted to people through a bite from a female Anopheles mosquito.