Story by ANGWENYI GICHANA Publication Date: 10/18/2007
Mrs Esther Keraa Ogeto is a resident of malaria prone Kisii District.
Her family used to experience recurrent malaria attacks, but due measures taken by the Government and its development partners, malaria infections are a thing of the past.
To Mrs Ogeto, 40, the distribution of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) has ended her worst nightmare of malaria infections in her family of six.
“We used to spend a lot of money on treatment. It was a big relief when the nets were introduced,” she added.
“Previously, I used to have malaria infections in my family monthly. But after we started sleeping under treated nets, malaria has become history,” she said at her home in Keuni Village, Bigege sub-location in Mosocho Division.
Mosocho area in Kitutu Chache constituency has been marked out as a malaria prone area.
Mrs Ogeto is the chairperson of Mosocho Enka Enyia, a community based group involved in the fight against female genital mutilation. She works at Fulda Mosocho an NGO, which is also involved in fighting the age-old custom.
Spraying of homes
She says the Ministry of Health also introduced the spraying of homes with anti- mosquitoes chemicals.
She adds: “We have also been trained on health education and more especially malaria prevention by the Ministry of Health personnel. Even my neighbours don‟t complain of malaria attacks these days.”
According to the district public health officer, Mr Francis Makau, more than 400,000 have been distributed in the district. Another 240,000 nets were distributed during the measles campaign, by Population Services International (PSI) and Merlin, an NGO, he said.
“Our statistics show that more than 65 per cent of the population in the district sleep under permanent treated nets. We have distributed the nets to pregnant mothers and children who are under the age of five. This is the most vulnerable group,” he said.
He adds: “Due to the availability of nets in this area, we have managed to scale down malaria drastically. This is the season when we used to have malaria outbreaks, but we are winning the war against malaria.”
Mr Makau said that more 50 per cent of children now slept under nets, compared with less than 10 per cent in 2003.
He said child mortality rate has dramatically reduced since the year 2004. In 2004, he said, 134 children died of malaria while the following year, only 46 died. Last year, the number went down remarkably when only 12 children died.
“We have ITNs in all health facilities in the district, which are sold at a subsided price of Sh50, and the nets are given free to pregnant mothers and children who are under five years,” says Mr Makau.
Other measures being taken include prompt treatment with effective anti-malarial medicines and preventive anti-malarial treatment for pregnant women.
The district medical officer of health, Dr Eric Abunga, says important strides have been made to fight malaria in the area.
“We are happy to note that we have been able to achieve reduced morbidity and even mortality due to malaria in the district over the past three years due to combined efforts in malaria prevention and control,” says Dr Abunga.
Previously, Dr Abunga added, more than 30 people were dying in the region monthly and praised stakeholders for their effort in fighting the killer disease.
Combination therapy
The last recorded epidemic occurred from January through April 1998, Dr Abunga said.
A new malaria policy known as Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT), has been put in place. The policy was launched by President Kibaki.
Recently, the World Health Organisation praised Kenya for its efforts to combat malaria, calling its mosquito net handouts a model for African governments.
Kenya and the World Health Organisation began distributing 3.4 million free insecticide-treated mosquito nets in September 2006.
“This collaboration between the Government of Kenya, WHO and donors serves as a model that should be replicated throughout Africa,” Dr Arata Kochi, director of the World Health Organisation‟s Global Malaria Programme, said.
In a report released in conjunction with WHO, the Government said it had “dramatically reduced” child deaths from malaria by giving free nets to poor rural communities. WHO estimates that in Kenya‟s high-risk areas, children sleeping under mosquito nets are 44 per cent less likely to die from malaria than those sleeping in the open.
“This is an affirmation that our investment in scaling up access to malaria control interventions can have an impact on this devastating disease,” former Health minister Charity Ngilu told journalists.
Mrs Ngilu launched a Sh500 million campaign to control malaria in 16 high-risk districts during the Africa Malaria day in Gucha District on April, 25.
The two-month initiative involved the use of synthetic chemicals, which are pyrethrin-based, for indoor spraying. The campaign targeted the highland malaria „hot-spot‟ districts in West Pokot, Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu, Kericho, Nandi, Buret, Kisii, Nyamira, Gucha, Trans Mara and Lugari, and covered 680,000 households in 60 days.
Covered eight divisions
During that period, a total of 85,000 households were sprayed and according to Mr Makau, the exercise which covered eight divisions in the area was 225 per cent successful.
“We targeted malaria prone areas, which we had mapped out and we shall do the same next year,” Mr Makau said.
Indoor residual spraying, Mr Makau notes, is an effective way of vector control being advocated for Africa.
It destroys the mosquitoes that are in the house or room and may find their way into the net or bite the occupants.
The indoor spraying lasts for six months and the community is advised to spray their houses every six months. Chemical used for such spraying, he says, are not DDT but biodegradable chemicals that are safe for humans and the environment.
New strategies
Mr Makau said the Government and its development partners are advocating the effective treatment of malaria by educating the communities on new strategies of fighting it.
These strategies include effective treatment of malaria within the first 24 hours after the onset of fever, management and control of mosquitoes, use of long-lasting treated mosquito nets and IRS.
The Africa Malaria Day has been set aside by African governments committed to rolling back the scourge and meeting the UN malaria-related Millennium Development Goals.
It is estimated that in Kenya, 39,000 children die of malaria every year.
Malaria is Kenya‟s biggest childhood killer, with an estimated 34,000 children under five dying each year.
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