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Z`bar announces another major malaria control programme
2007-01-04 09:59:49
By Issa Yussuf, Zanzibar
Health officials in Zanzibar are expected to start spraying households with a non-toxic insecticide in an effort to control the breeding of mosquitoes that transmit malaria, Africa’s top killer disease.
“We are at the final-touches of preparation for the spraying exercise to be done before the end of this month.
We are just waiting for the arrival of the equipment including the chemical,” said Dr Mahdi Ramsan, the Zanzibar Malaria Control Programme (ZMCP).
He said lambda-cyhalothrin (ICON) chemical would be used in the spraying of households - Indoor Residual Spray (IRS).
This would be the second time for the households in Zanzibar to be sprayed in efforts to control the breeding of the mosquitoes causing malaria. The first time was in July last year.
The ZMCP has been coordinating the awareness campaign in both Unguja and Pemba to rectify some of the problems identified in the last spraying like wrong perception on the chemical used, and political motives in refusing their houses to be sprayed.
“We want to meet 100 per cent or have all households sprayed. We appeal to the people to show co-operation in eradicating malaria in the islands,” Dr Ramsan said.
But ZMCP Manager Abdullah Suleiman, said: “All political, NGOs, and religious leaders in the island should join in the campaign to make sure the spraying exercise is a success.”
According to Zanzibar’s Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Sultani Mohamed Mugheiry, the support of the entire community was necessary to ensure Zanzibar would be free of malaria by 2008.
In the last IRS, more than 200,000 households were sprayed in the campaign, which is part of the US President’s Anti-Malaria Initiative (PMI), being implemented in Zanzibar under a project known as ‘Kataa Malaria’.
Other efforts in combating malaria was the distribution of more than 200,000 insecticide-treated mosquito nets on the island, and the introduction of the rapid diagnostic test kits, providing a quick and accurate diagnosis for malaria.
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