|
|
Zimbabwe: Govt Extends Malaria Spraying Programme
 |
 Published by the government of Zimbabwe |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
The Herald (Harare)
7 March 2008
Posted to the web 7 March 2008
Harare
Govenmenr has extended the duration of malaria spraying programme owing to the prolonged rains and flooding which made some areas inaccessible because of damaged roads.
In an interview, head of malaria programme in the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare Dr Portia Manangazira said the programme, which usually ends in February, will extend until April.
"The programme is usually before the malaria peak season (between April and May) but this year, prolonged rains, flooding and damaged roads delayed completion of the programme," said Dr Manangazira.
The malaria spraying programme is conducted in 47 districts. Most of them are rural areas.
Dr Manangazira said because of the delayed spraying in some districts, the country might record a high number of malaria cases. "Already there are reports that some districts in Mutasa, Chipinge and Gokwe where spraying was delayed, malaria cases were increasing. Now that the rains have stopped, mosquitoes are breeding heavily," she said.
Traditionally, the ministry records at least 1,4 million malaria cases a year.
|
The World Health Organisation has already warned the region of an increase in malaria illnesses owing to prolonged rains. In response, Government has introduced a new malaria drug coartem, which is expected to replace chloroquine and fansidar.
Dr Manangazira said government had refocused its target for people who should benefit from insecticide treated mosquito nets from pregnant mothers and children under the age of five.
"We are saying every household should have at least three treated mosquito nets although pregnant women and children under the age of five are still our priority."
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
