Significant strides in malaria fight
DODOMA: TANZANIA has achieved a significant milestone in reduction of malaria cases, reporting a 45 per cent decrease in prevalence rates over the past eight years.
The success is attributed to the concerted efforts of the Ministry of Health, in partnership with the President’s Office (Regional Administration and Local Government (PORALG) and various stakeholders, in implementing effective malaria control strategies.
Deputy Minister for Health, Dr Godwin Mollel revealed these positive findings during a meeting with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on HIV and AIDS held at the Parliament Hall in Dodoma.
“Tanzania has seen a notable decline in malaria prevalence, as the infection rate dropped from 14.8 per cent in 2015 to 8.1 per cent in 2022,” he said.
Dr Mollel said that the government’s focus on mosquito control, early detection, treatment and preventive measures has been instrumental in achieving this milestone.
He further said these efforts have resulted in notable achievements over the past eight years, reducing the number of malaria outpatients by 55 per cent.
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“The government has implemented various measures over approximately eight years, successfully reducing the malaria infection rate and cutting the number of outpatients from 7.7 million to 3.5 million by 2023,” said Dr Mollel.
Additionally, Dr Mollel said that the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) is currently implementing its sixth strategic plan (2021-2025), which aims to reduce malaria prevalence further from 7.5 per cent in 2017 to 3.5 per cent by 2025.
Acting Chairperson of the committee, Ms Bernadeta Mushashu, urged the government to increase efforts in eliminating malaria in high-risk regions such as Tabora (23.4 per cent), Mtwara (20 per cent), Kagera (18 per cent), Shinyanga (16 per cent) and Mara (15 per cent).
She also commended the government for its ongoing efforts and success in reducing malaria prevalence to below 1 per cent in regions like Arusha, Kilimanjaro, Manyara, Dodoma, Singida, Iringa, Songwe, Dar es Salaam and Mwanza.
Furthermore, the committee called on the public to follow medical doctors’ advice on proper use of treated mosquito nets and to maintain clean and safe surroundings to prevent mosquito breeding grounds.
In April this year, during the Malaria Forum, NMCP Programme Manager Dr Samwel Lazaro presented data demonstrating remarkable reductions in malaria prevalence across different population groups.
Dr Lazaro said among children under five years old, prevalence decreased from 18.1 per cent in 2008 to 8.1 per cent in 2022. Similarly, among school children, prevalence decreased from 21.6 per cent in 2015 to 11.3 per cent in 2023.
“Prevalence among pregnant women, however, has remained stable over the past five years,” he said.
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The National Malaria Strategic Plan 2021-2025 set a goal for Tanzania to become a society free from malaria, the goal is to reduce the average malaria prevalence in children aged less than 5 years from 7 per cent in 2017 to less than 3.5 per cent in 2025.
World Health Organisation (WHO) member states have endorsed the bold vision of a world free of malaria and set the ambitious target of reducing the global malaria burden by 90 per cent by 2030.
