Lundazi District Director of Health, Dr Allan Chisenga, says there is need for Lundazi to have a multi sectoral approach in the fight against malaria if the district was to effectively eradicate malaria by the year 2015.
Dr. Chisenga said churches, traditional rulers, health neighborhood committees, non
governmental organizations, political parties, business communities and parasitatal
organizations are supposed to be incorporated in malaria control programme in order
to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) ON MALARIA BY 2015.
Dr. Chisenga was speaking during the social mobilization of stakeholders on mass
insecticide treated mosquito nets distribution and malaria control campaign meeting
held in the council chamber over the weekend.
He said there is high magnitude of the malaria problems citing high morbidity and
mortality, high work absenteeism, high government expenditure on treating malaria
cases, high maternal cases especially to expecting mothers and under five children
and high incidences of HIV/AIDS as some chalenging tasks.
The District Health Director said the inclusion of co-operating partners in the
fight against malaria was paramount and cardinal because they supplement
government’s efforts in its quest to eradicate malaria in the district, as the state
alone cannot manage due to limited resources.
Doctor Chisenga noted that although the department of health has identified the
usage of insecticide treated mosquito nets as cheaper and cost effective, they are
some other methods, such as indoor residual spraying, environmental mitigation,
treatment for prevention of malaria and prompt diagnosis and treatment.
And speaking at the same meeting Lundazi district Catholic Parish Priest, Father
Vincent Daka called for the formation of District Malaria Control Campaign Committee
to spearhead the distribution of the 100,000 free insecticide treated mosquito nets.
Fr Daka noted that if the department of health has 90,000 nets, Lundazi Catholic
Parish has 2,000 nets; Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) has 350 nets;
Care Zambia has 6,620 nets and Africare has an undisclosed number of nets received
from various donor countries and waiting to be distributed to the local communities,
then there is need to constitute a district committee to oversee the exercise.
