The Ministry of Health in Rwanda has said that the community needs to be involved in the fight against malaria and new strategies adopted along the way, since the spread of malaria is becoming more unpredictable with the current strategies in place.

The ministry officials say that mosquitoes have become resistant to pyrethrum drugs used for the indoor residue spray-which has been used in the countrywide campaign against malaria.

Health experts say that the communities should be mobilized on the importance of environment management, especially on water bodies, because they are the major habitats for the mosquitoes.

It is this regard that the ministry of health, on June 8, launched a new five year Integrated Vector Management Plan (IVM) for 2012 -2017 as strategic plan to deal with malaria and other vector born diseases such as; yellow fever, sleeping sickness, among others.

Dr. John Githure, an advisor on malaria related issues in the Ministry of Health says that there is need for collaborative efforts between the health ministry and other ministries such as- local government and agriculture- in order to attain a collective program impact on community.

Health reports indicate that although there has been a decline in the prevalence of malaria in various parts of the country, border districts still register many cases of malaria due to cross border movement; however Rwanda plans on mobilizing its neighboring countries to adopt the same measure of vector control.

Rwanda, has scaled up interventions have made significant reductions in morbidity by 87 percent from 1,669,614 malaria cases in 2005 to 212,200 cases in 2011 and reduced mortality by 76 percent from 1,582 deaths in 2005 to 380 death in 2011, largely attributed to the increased coverage and use of long lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs).

According to the 2010 DHS results, "82 percent of the population has at least one LLIN, and 72 percent of pregnant women and 70 percent of children under-five years were using bed nets.

The Head of Malaria and Other Parasitic Diseases Division at the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), Dr Corine Karema, says the ministry is targeting a five percent reduction of infection from the current 15 percent.