28 Jul 2014

The Minister of Health has decried the low uptake of Malaria interventions by communities despite intensified community mobilization by District Health Management Teams (DHMTs) during the transmission season.

Responding to questions in Parliament on July 25, Dr John Seakgosing said vector control was the main malaria control strategy through Indoor residual spraying which was being provided for free.

He explained that the Ministry was also providing Long Lasting Mosquito Nets (LLINs) to people residing in Ngami, Okavango, Chobe, Boteti, Tutume and Bobirwa.

“Indoor residual spraying coverage remains low in North West and all other spraying district, in 2013 the coverage was 68 percent way below the 90 percent target by World Health Organization (WHO). This low coverage is mainly due to refusals and people not being home during the spraying time,”  said the minister.

He said a Malaria Indicator Survey in 2012 indicated that only 40.3percent of people in households with mosquito nets sleep under the net nationally. The Minister said according to the survey in Okavango only 53 percent of the people with nets were suing then while Ngami only 40 percent slept under them when they had them.

However Dr Seakgosing told the House that the country has made commendable strides in reducing the burden of malaria through implementation of intensified interventions.

He said confirmed malaria cases reduced from 8056 in 2000 to 456 in 2013 which was a 93 percent reduction.“Malaria deaths reduced from 35 in 2000 to 7 in 2013 which is a 80 percent reduction. As a result of the above achievements, Botswana is one of the four SADC countries targeted for malaria elimination by 2015 together with Namibia, Swaziland and South Africa,” he said.

He said Botswana had a strong Weekly Surveillance System and a rapid Immediate Notificcation System which ensured that all malaria cases were reported on a weekly basis to the National level through phone or fax.

The Minister was responding to a question proposed by Francistown West MP Dr Habaudi Hobona who wanted the minister to update the House on the competencies the country had on the management of the deadly disease especially in the North West.

The Francistown West legislator warned that 2014 was a wet year and it should be noted that malaria could attack. She said the region (North West) was an endemic area with an unprecedented rise in the morbidity and fatality of the disease. ENDS