Busia County government in partnership with End Malaria Council have intensified a campaign to help address the high malaria prevalence rate in the County that has continued to cause havoc and claim many lives. The county is leading in the country with a prevalence rate of 39 per cent which is alarming and calls for urgent intervention. Malaria Council Special Advisor, Dr Willis Akhwale acknowledged efforts so far by the county government even as they promised to continue partnering with the County through mobilising resources that will drive the agenda of malaria control to prevent deaths especially among children and expectant mothers. ‘We want to affirm our full commitment in the fight against malaria by mobilising more resources and employing new technology in the fight against malaria in Busia. We hope that towards the end of this year 2023 we will be able to have an impact on the level of malaria,’ said Akhwale. The council urged the county to embrace drone technology of spraying mosquito breeding zones and invest in research to develop new approaches to the mirage in the health sector. ‘Some Counties like Migori have registered a reduction in Malaria cases due to the Indoor Residual Spraying. As a Council we are looking at how we can sustain the gains made and we strongly believe that the private sector can be a very good partner in ending malaria in Kenya,’ he added. He further applauded the County Government for ensuring that the Community Health Volunteers are trained to identify the mosquito larvae and the breeding sites hence being in a position to guide the team tasked with the responsibility of spraying. ‘The drones are targeting mosquito larvae – spraying anti-mosquito insecticides in areas where the frequency of mosquito-borne illness remains high. The drones are expected to do what it would take hundreds of workers on the ground to accomplish, saving millions of dollars and improving mosquito control,’ said Akhwale. The County Executive Committee Member for Health, Beatrice Nakholi who was accompanied by the Director of Medical Services, Dr Janerose Ambuchi and her Public Health counterpart, Dr Melsa Lutomia applauded the Council for prioritising the County in the control of malaria using drone technology. Busia County was identified as a County that needs support due to the high prevalence rate of malaria transmission and huge breeding sites.
Source: Kenya News Agency