Alex Byakatonda
apearlnews.com
Kabale District on Monday formed and inaugurated a District Malaria
taskforce to fast-track and respond to the projected upsurge in the
number of malaria cases
Dr Gilbert Arineitwe Mateeka, the Kabale District Health Officer,
taskforce, which will be chaired by the Resident District
commissioner, will include members like the District Chairperson, Chief
Administrative officer, district health officer, the malaria focal point
person, bio statistician, district health educator, surveillance focal
person and the vector control person.
He says that the committee was formed with guidance from the ministry.
of health ahead of the rainy season, which will bring malaria to the country
Transmission is high.
Dr. Mateeka adds that the taskforce will be meeting twice a month to
Review the malaria situation in the district, including the number of
Examine malaria cases and deaths to see if there is enough medicine.
stocks and any other gaps in the intervention and response to malaria
upsurge.
According to Dr. Mateeka, the district recorded 1277 malaria cases.
in 2022, including one death. However, he says that 108 malaria cases
were recorded in the first week of January 2023.
Mateeka adds that the district normally records an upsurge in malaria.
cases in the weeks following holiday seasons such as Christmas and Easter,
which he claims are always transported from districts with high
malaria cases.
The Kabale District Malaria Focal Person, Edmond Kabyemera, said that
Some of the interventions that the task force will be aiming at
Implementing measures include the proper use of treated mosquito nets, which were
recently distributed and lava-siding to reduce the mosquito
populations, among others.
He did, however, state that they face numerous challenges, such as lateness.
reporting to health facilities by patients seeking medical services,
self-treatment, myths, and misconceptions of community members about
use of mosquito nets, with some people claiming that they sweat
when they sleep under mosquito nets and community members who are
poorly using their mosquito nets, among others.
He also noted with concern the number of Rwandans who come to seek
medication in Uganda, which he said increases the number of cases
recorded in the district.
The Kabale Deputy Resident District Commissioner, Ronald Bakak, and the
district chairperson, Nelson Nshangabasheija, who inaugurated the
taskforce committee, said that the taskforce has been formed at the
right time.
They praised the government for establishing mechanisms for
improving health care systems in the country, including programs aimed
fighting malaria, which claims the lives of many Ugandans.
Bakak noted that they will not hesitate to arrest anyone who will
caught misusing the mosquito nets distributed by the government.
