30 Nov 2016

Coverage of Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) has dropped significantly in Chobe district over the past three years.

IRS is a large-scale malaria control operations using inseticides.

Speaking at a media briefing recently, head of Chobe District Health Management Team (DHMT), Dr John Makuka told reporters that between 2009 and 2012, the district performed impressively with coverage exceeding 80 per cent.

“From 2013 to date, our IRS coverage has dropped to 50s and 60s per cent range,” he said adding that currently the district is at 65 per cent. As a result of low coverage, the district recorded 136 cases of malaria last year. He noted that there is a correlation between coverage and malaria cases.

Dr Makuka complained that some people refused to have their houses sprayed because they complained that the chemicals used to kill mosquitos irritated they skins, or that malaria was no longer a problem.

He said that these were merely excuses , urging home owners to allow them to spray as the skin irritation caused by the chemicals was temporary. He advised people to close their houses every day at 5pm as that was the time when mosquitos started moving about.

Spraying month is normally October but this year Dr Makuka said that they were going to start late as spraying chemicals arrived late.

Dr Makuka said they should have eliminated malaria in 2014 but they moved to 2018 due to challenges they encountered. He noted that they were working hand in hand with Southern African Development Community (SADC) to fight malaria. “We are amongst the top four SADC countries that have been earmarked for malaria elimination,” he said.

Chobe District Council chairperson Mr Mwanota Kachana called for sensitisation of the communities to be intensified. “We will help spread the message using existing structures such as the Village Extension Teams and Village District Committee,” he said.

Dr Lisani Ntoni appealed to the community to mobilise each other because if one’s neighbour was refusing to have their houses sprayed, it would affect other people. He encouraged the community not to leave containers with water in their yards as this could be a breeding place for mosquitos.

As such, Dr Makuka appealed to residents who were not included as part of IRS coverage to use bed nets as they had chemicals that could also kill mosquitos. He also advised residents to use mosquito repellent lotions and wear long sleeved clothes at night to minimise exposure to malaria. ENDS