On the first day of the 2024 National Dialogue Council commonly known as Umushyikirano, the Prime Minister Édouard Ngirente in his presentation said malaria-related deaths went down from 427 in 2017 to just 35 in 2023. The World Health Organisation reports that the malaria infection rate significantly reduced in the country, from 409 cases per 1000 people in 2016, to 76 cases per 1000 people in 2022. ALSO READ: How Rwanda is winning malaria fight Before 2005, malaria was the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in Rwanda. It also accounted for 50 percent of outpatient attendance in the health centers and up to 6 percent of fatality cases in district hospitals. Obviously, the current situation is not a result of natural progression. Rwanda’s rapid scale-up of malaria interventions and its uptake among citizens has ensured positive results, and not just in malaria prevention and treatment. Following the malaria contingency plan that was put in place in 2016, severe cases of malaria and mortality have since decreased. In 2019, Rwanda Biomedical Center reported that more than 50 percent of malaria cases were successfully treated by Community Health Workers (CHWs) – a number which has since increased. ALSO READ: Community health workers: Facilitating the growth of Rwanda’s health sector Today, a person doesn’t need to go to the hospital to test or get malaria medication, because of the outstanding role currently being played by CHWs in their respective villages. Since the introduction of Home Based Management of Malaria (HBM) for both adults and children through Community Health Workers, malaria patients are being diagnosed and treated early. Disadvantaged people are treated malaria free of charge, which also encourages early treatment. Such innovative initiatives and other measures like distribution of treated mosquito nets and indoor residue spraying have been crucial for these pleasant results. However, 35 people are too many dying from a preventable and curable disease such as malaria. We can achieve a malaria deaths-free society by combining efforts with all stakeholders- including households – to prevent malaria by doing the basics; sleeping under mosquito nets, digging trenches for proper water drainage to avoid stagnant water, and participating in Umuganda to clear bushes that are breeding grounds for mosquitoes in our neighbourhoods. In case of infection, early treatment should be sought especially since this has been brought closer to us through the CHWs, health posts and health centres that continue to spring up in all corners of the country.
