State forms special council in new plan to fight malaria
A mother and her baby sleep under a mosquito net.
Kenya needs Sh24 billion in the next four years and Sh6 billion annually to eradicate malaria, Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe said on Wednesday.
The country contributes only 46 percent of the cash needed to fight the disease. With about 37 million Kenyans at risk of contracting malaria, Mr Kagwe says that high-burden areas like Busia and Siaya counties need urgent attention.
“To mitigate against this, we plan to accelerate efforts that will include application of measures to spray and kill mosquito larvae at the source in these counties during the second quarter of this calendar year,” he said.
The government on Wednesday launched the End Malaria Council (EMC), which promises to shift focus to local pharmaceutical manufacturing and other health supplies. The country becomes the fifth African country to join the initiative to end malaria as one of the calls made by President Uhuru Kenyatta, who chairs the African Leaders Malaria Alliance.
“The government on its own cannot provide the resources needed to meet the national targets to end malaria by 2030. The establishment of the council that brings together government, private sector and civil society leaders will transform the malaria fight in Kenya,” said Mr Christopher Getonga, chairperson of the Kenya End Malaria Council.
The term in office of the 12 member council will span three years.
“The EMC will advocate for malaria to remain high on the development agenda across all sectors and at all levels to support the devolution of the health sector,” said Mr Getonga.
Some of the key strategies with a resource gap as highlighted by the Health ministry include; malaria prevention, case management, surveillance, social behaviour change and programme management.
