Malaria no longer a threat - MoH

The Ministry of Health has announced that with a 60 percent decrease in Malaria infection rates over the last three years, the country is no longer threatened by the disease. Reports indicate that previously over 1.7m cases of Malaria cases were reported annually but last year only 700,000 were recorded. Addressing a monthly press briefing, Health Minister Dr Richard Sezibera, said the struggle to fight Malaria had turned out to be successful and attributed this to the massive distribution and use of insecticide treated mosquito nets. “Only 16 percent of Rwandans used to sleep under insecticide treated mosquito nets three years ago but now the numbers have grown to over 60 percent and most of these are pregnant and expectant mothers,” Sezibera said. He called out for early treatment and regular medical checks to ascertain a risk free population and revealed that new improved drugs which effectively treat Malaria were already available and distribution at the village level would start by the end of this year. “This is a way of introducing home-based management of fever and people do not have to sit back and wait until they fall sick because prevention is definitely better than cure,” he said. He added that individual campaigns by the fist lady Jeannette Kagame had also helped get rid of what used to be the number one killer of the Rwandan population. Ratings have now put Malaria in third position following respiratory track infections and pneumonia which claims the lives of over 5,000 children every year. Ends