Malaria prevalence in Kisumu County has dropped from 27% in 2015 to 19% in 2021 following a raft of measures rolled out by the government and development partners to tame the killer disease.
Kisumu County Malaria Control Coordinator Lilyana Dayo attributed the drop to successful mass distribution of insecticide treated nets, accurate diagnosis and treatment of the disease and vector control.
Through support from the national government and partners, the county government, she said has also trained all Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) on screening and treatment of non-complicated malaria.
“Our CHV’s have been trained and equipped with rapid testing kits and drugs for accurate diagnosis and treatment of uncomplicated malaria within the community,” she said.
This coupled with sensitisation of proper usage of mosquito nets and indoor residual spraying to kill mosquitoes, she said has contributed immensely to the drop in prevalence of the disease.
“Initially, we had cases of misuse of the nets where some people used them for fishing and covering kitchen gardens but we have done proper sensitisation to tame the malpractices,” she said.
Speaking in Kisumu on Wednesday during the launch of mass distribution of treated mosquito nets, Dayo asked all stakeholders not to relent on the fight against malaria to ensure that the disease is eradicated.
She disclosed that the county has received 793,740 treated mosquito nets through the national malaria control programme to aid in the fight against the disease.
So far, she said 316, 373 households in the area have been mapped and registered to benefit from the free nets.
Dayo asked all registered persons to turn up at the respective distribution centres spread across the county to collect the nets before the exercise comes to an end on May 9, 2021.
She further urged the beneficiaries to ensure that they sleep under the nets to ensure that the gains made in the fights against the disease are not reversed.
By Chris Mahandara
