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Nyanza Chiefs To Fight Malaria Witchdoctors

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Published on Thursday, 18 March 2010 15:10

Lydia Muriuki particularly wants the chiefs to discourage the sick from going to witchdoctors. Muriuki said this will ensure the sick go to hospital early before the disease develops to an incurable stage. "People keep relying on quacks for treatment of malaria yet the government has made it free in all public health institutions," she said.

Public health assistant minister James Gesami warned Nyanza people that the killer disease will continue affecting their economic development if they do not help the government fight it. " Malaria presents us with the biggest challenge in realising the Vision 2030 as it has taken toll on the country's human resource and capital," Gesami said.

Gesami and Muriuki were speaking at Nyamaiya in his West Mugirango, when the assistant minister launched the Komesha Malaria Communities' Project. Gesami regretted that millions of shillings are used in treating the sick yet it is preventable.

"Past initiatives have not helped in completely eradicating malaria, but new ventures will be rolled out. We are working towards a malaria-free, Kenya," he said. According to a research by the Malaria Division, cases of the disease constitute 30 per cent of all out patient consultations and 19 per cent admissions in Kenya.

The research further shows the disease contributes to between three and five per cent of deaths in Kenya. The assistant minister said the government has doubled efforts to effectively control and manage the disease in areas which are most affected like Kisii.

He said the best alternative in the fight against' malaria is to train communities and empower them to effectively deal with the disease. Nyanza provincial director of public health Jackson Kioko, Malaria Division representative John Omollo and 13 DCs from the region attended the ceremony.

Kioko said the government had allocated Sh10 million for indoor residual spraying of malaria prone zones of Nyanza province from April. He appealed to residents to allow health workers spray their houses against mosquitoes.