High malaria cases should be concern for everybody — USAID chief
Feb 14, 2024
A report released in April last year showed that while the malaria prevalence rate dropped from 42% in 2014 to 9.1% in 2018, cases started shooting up again.
The U.S Ambassador to Uganda William W.Popp during the launch of the seventh edition of the 'Report to the Ugandan People' A report which provides a review of U.S funded assistance programs in Uganda and their impacts. This is at the American Center in Kampala. (Photos by Mpalanyi Ssentongo)
John Masaba
Journalist @New Vision
______________________ Scovia Adikini (L), team leader for dry land cereal research program at National Semi Arid Resources Research Institute interacting with Richard Nelson USAID Uganda Mission Director.
The rising malaria cases should be treated as a national emergency, USAID Uganda country director Richard Nelson has said.
Nelson says there is a need for Uganda to carry out a thorough investigation into why malaria cases seemed to drop gradually for a sustained period of about 10 years, but then suddenly spiked again between 2019 and 2020.
He made the remarks during the launch of the US report to the Ugandan people in Kampala on Monday, February 12.
"The ministry is very concerned as are we," Nelson said.
He added that they are working closely with the health ministry to figure out the exact problem by conducting studies about the problem.
"We have activities that are trying to address those problems in close coordination with experts and everyone involved," he said.
A report released in April last year showed that while the malaria prevalence rate dropped from 42% in 2014 to 9.1% in 2018, cases started shooting up again.
Speaking during the dissemination of the findings, Ronald Kimuli, the monitoring and evaluation specialist at the health ministry, said the decline in malaria prevalence was impressive before it took another turn.
He added that another survey was supposed to be conducted in 2022 as a follow-up to the survey of 2018- 2019.
However, he noted that reported malaria cases at health facilities showed an increase in malaria cases.
Goal not achieved
Kimuli added that by 2023, the ministry's target was to reduce cases of Malaria to 215 for every 1,000 people.
However, this was not achieved because malaria incidence was 320 cases for every 1,000 people for the year 2022 yet the previous year (2021) there were 246 cases of malaria for every 1,000.
Health experts say this is the third highest in the world after Nigeria, which is in the first place followed by war-torn DR Congo.
Eastern Uganda dominates as the area with the highest malaria burden, with districts Butebo, Budaka, Kibuku, Pallisa, Butaleja, Busia, and Tororo identified as those that need the most attention.
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