Malawi has cut malaria deaths by 50 percent from 23 deaths in every 100,000 in 2016 to 12 deaths per 100,000 in 2021, officials from the ministry of health have reported.
Secretary for Health Dr. Charles Mwansambo announced the extension for vaccination spots at a launch in Mchinji.“We have reduced the mortality rate for malaria due to mass and routine distribution of nets, indoor residual spraying, and case management among others.
“For this reason, we have added another intervention (malaria vaccination exercise) we have launched today which on its own can reduce malaria disease by 33 percent.
“However, all these measures need to be followed so that we can eliminate the disease by 2030,” Mwansambo said.
The project is being promoted and funded by the Malawi Government in conjunction with UNICEF, WHO, PATH, and others.
At least 330,000 under-five children in 11 districts will benefit from the exercise. WHO recommended wide vaccination against the infective disease in African countries after a successful pilot phase in Ghana, Malawi, and Kenya.
In a related development, the federal government of Nigeria commenced the dissemination of the 2021 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey (NMIS) report.
The documents tagged, “The 2021 Malaria Indicator Survey Report,” as well as the Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilisation (ACSM) Strategy and Implementation Guide,” was formally unveiled by the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja.
Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who flagged off the programme said the 2021 NMIS report provided the country and partners the necessary baseline information with which the achievements of the current anti-malaria intervention effort would be benchmarked.