20 Mar 2017

The Ministry of Health and Wellness has so far recorded 627 cases of malaria and seven deaths starting March this year.

Assistant Minister of Health and Wellness, Mr Dikgang Makagalemele told Parliament that about 60 per cent of the cases were from Okavango District.

Responding to a question in Parliament from Boteti East MP, Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe, the assistant minister said they had also recorded sporadic cases from non-endemic malaria districts such as Kgatleng, Kgalagadi South, North East, Mahalapye and Palapye.

Furthermore, Mr Makgalemele said the ministry was experiencing an increase in the number of reported malaria cases due to the heavy rains.

Malaria transmission period, he added, runs from around October to early May, noting that annually in preparation for the season, the ministry conducted integrated vector control interventions, public education, community mobilisation and capacity building. Drug and commodity availability were also ensured," he added.

“Based on the early warning of normal to above normal rainfall this year by the meteorological services, my ministry intensified its efforts to prepare for the eventuality of a possible malaria outbreak. We have been monitoring stock levels of our anti-malarials at both central medical stores and our health facilities. Most of our health facilities have adequate stock levels of first line anti-malarials,” said Mr Makgalemele.

However, he told the House that a few District Health Management Teams (DHMT’s) have reported shortage of quinine injection, which was used for severe cases, adding that they were expecting a second consignment and additional stocks of the drug and other anti-malarials to cater for the increase in cases.

To monitor anti-malarials and anti-diarrhoeals, the assistant minister said the Central Medical Stores was monitoring the situation by contacting DHMTs on a daily basis, adding that there had been no staff redistribution based on the outbreak.

Furthermore, Mr Makgalemele said the national malaria control programme had trained trainers of trainers from all health districts on malaria case management to train the rest of the staff in their districts. This country wide training, he said, was meant to strengthen case management of health care workers in both malaria and non-malaria endemic areas.

“Specifically for this outbreak, national teams have been dispatched to monitor the situation in the affected districts of Okavango, Ngami, Tutume, Bobirwa, Palapye, Kgatleng and Mahalapye. Our entomologists are also on the ground supporting case investigations,” he said.

All DHMTs, he said, had malaria epidemic response teams, adding that during outbreaks, as was the case, the teams had been reactivated and were meeting on a weekly basis to assess the situation.

The areas that have been affected and more likely to be affected, the assistant minister said, were the six malaria endemic districts of Chobe, Ngami, Okavango, Bobirwa, Tutume and Boteti. However, he said due to high population mobility and standing water pools, sporadic cases of malaria could occur in non-endemic areas.

“My ministry has bought 2 325 Long Lasting Insecticidal Mosquito Nets (LLINS) which continue to be distributed in malaria endemic districts,” added Mr Makgalemele.

For the quarter ending December 2016, he said the average drug availability was 86.5 per cent, adding that the DHMT had also indicated that they had adequate anti-malarials in Boteti.

Boteti East legislator had asked Mr Makgalemele to appraise the House about the ministry’s preparedness to fight malaria in case of outbreak looking at the heavy rains that were experienced in most of the villages.

Mr Lelatisitswe wanted the minister to look into issues of malaria drug updates or stock levels, staff distribution, areas that were likely to be affected and why, distribution of mosquito nets, how much was reserved for this and the Boteti drug situation. ENDS