Malfunctioning equipment, insufficient spraying operators, and limited insecticides threaten the Zambezi region's indoor residual spraying (IRS) campaign, risking the spread of malaria across the region.
This was revealed by Faith Leader Advocacy for Malaria Elimination (Flame), who further say the region is experiencing a lack of protective gear for operators.
Zambezi, along with other malaria-endemic regions, is expected to kick off the IRS campaign to combat the fast-approaching malaria season on 22 September.
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In August, minister of health and social services Esperance Luvindao reported that the Zambezi region recorded the highest number of malaria cases with 25 065 out of the 95 729 recorded nationally.
With the region accounting for over 26% of malaria cases nationwide, Flame regional chairperson Benjamin Limbo yesterday urged the government to address these challenges.
He said after inspecting the preparedness of the IRS campaign, he found that the 36 spraying pumps are in need of technical attention.
"Most of these pumps either don't function at all or need spares, which are very scarce and need time to be procured. I also found that the spraying operators were supposed to be 131, however, it was cut down to 66 operators. These few operators now need to spray about 11 000 structures within three months. It's an impossible mission right from the start. Hence, we are projecting 45% coverage or less for the IRS for the region if we include refusals and locked structures," he said.
Personal protective gear is yet to be procured while the campaign starts next week.
"The region only has enough stock of insecticides for one week, according to reliable sources at the regional office," he said.
With the region hit the hardest every year, Limbo said there is need for more resources to be allocated to the most affected areas to suppress the situation.
He urged the government to recruit additional spray operators to reduce the pressure and fast-track the spraying.
"We also propose the extension of the spraying period so that every hotspot area must be reached; otherwise the outbreak of this year will be devastating. Business people in Zambezi must also come on board to assist with the situation in any way they can," he said.
Efforts for comment from the health ministry's spokesperson, Walters Kamaya, and the regional health director, Woita Kapumburu, were unsuccessful as questions sent to them went unanswered.
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Malaria-related deaths have surged as 154 deaths were reported countrywide, with the case fatality rate of 0.16.
