The Sunday News
THE United States government has availed $14 million to Zimbabwe as support for the country’s fight against malaria, amid indications that cases of the disease were on a decline countrywide.
This brings to $71 million financial support that the American government has committed to Zimbabwe’s malaria fight since 2011 through the US President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI).
Programme manager for the malaria control unit in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Dr Joseph Mberikunashe confirmed receipt of the support last week, adding that the US government had also pledged to provide another $14 million next year.
“We welcome the support and appreciate it. Over the past five years the US government has been assisting us in combating malaria through the President’s Malaria Initiative Programme. This year they have availed $14 million and also made a commitment that they would avail an equivalent amount next year,” he said.
The US support for malaria activities in Zimbabwe includes supply of insecticide treated nets and anti-malarial prevention drugs to pregnant women, training of health and community workers in proper malaria case management, and providing malaria test kits and therapy drugs across the country.
Last year the PMI programme saw over 655 000 insecticide treated nets and over two million malaria test kits being distributed across the country while over 800 000 pregnant women received treatment countrywide.
Ministry of Health and Child Care officials together with US malaria co-ordinator Mr Rear Admiral and PMI head Mr Timothy Ziemer visited Manicaland province earlier this month to observe community level malaria prevention and treatment activities.
The activities, which include monitoring of mosquito populations and community level malaria case management, showcased strategies used in the country to prevent and effectively treat malaria.
For the past two years, Manicaland province has been reporting the highest number of malaria cases and deaths than any other province in Zimbabwe.
“Some of the contributing factors include the presence of mosquitoes that are beginning to be resistant to pyrethroid-based insecticides. This time we have switched to organophosphate and we hope it will be more effective in containing the disease. High mobility of people in the province is also another major contributing factor,” said Dr Mberikunashe.
In a statement last week, the US embassy in Zimbabwe reiterated its government’s continued support for Zimbabwe’s fight against malaria.
“Since the US PMI began its support to the people of Zimbabwe in 2011, the United States has committed a total of $71 million to combat malaria in Zimbabwe. The US PMI plans to commit another $14,5 million next year,” reads the statement.
Zimbabwe has recorded a significant decline of about 50 percent in malaria cases and deaths this year and indications are that the cases will continue to drop compared to previous years.
Just over 200 000 cases have been recorded so far this year compared to over 400 000 cases that were recorded during the same period last year.
At least 317 people have died of malaria in the first six months of this year countrywide down from 515 who succumbed to the disease in the same period last year.
The provinces that have reported the highest number of cases so far this year are Mashonaland Central and Mashonaland East.
Last year saw a sharp increase in malaria cases with the cases that had been recorded in the first six months of the year having surpassed by about seven percent the total cases recorded in 2013.
Dr Mberikunashe attributed the significant decline in malaria cases and deaths to a number of factors, among them the low rainfalls received in most parts of the country during the past rainy season.
He said a sharp decline of malaria cases and deaths was expected this year compared to previous years as a result of various interventions by the health ministry, complemented by law rainfall that was received in the past rainy season.
“The decrease cannot be attributed to one factor. There are a lot of reasons which include the low rainfalls that we recorded generally across the country. Another factor is that we also changed the insecticide that we used in Manicaland province,” he said.
The country experienced an upsurge of malaria incidence between 2012 and 2013 and the Ministry of Health and Child Care was on high alert for a possible outbreak of the disease.
Government is targeting to reduce malaria deaths from the current 22 per a thousand people per year, to one per thousand by 2017.
Zimbabwe has also engaged other countries from the Sadc region in Trans-frontier collaborative efforts to contain the disease.
