West Nile records high cases of malaria death among children

By Ibrahim Adubango

Nebbi, (UG):- Statistics from the Ministry of Health indicate that the West Nile region has the highest rate of malaria death cases among children below the age of five years compared to other regions in the country.

According to the Communication Officer Ministry Health Kasozi Silver, although malaria is raging across the country with different regions being affected differently, West Nile, in particular, takes the lead out of 1,000 children born, 79 do not reach their 5th birthday which is unacceptably high.

“West Nile region according to the number of children who die of malaria cases before their 5th birthday is a concern that calls for local leaders and local stakeholders at all levels in the region, to know that there is need to put emphasis on prevention rather than cure since most of malaria epidemics still remains a number one killer which should be unacceptable,” Kasozi said.

Kasozi while presenting a paper on Malaria Situation in West Nile region during the integrated community case management and malaria intervention advocacy and sensitization meeting on resentily at Gaf hall in Nebbi Municipality, attributed the high trend of malaria deaths in West Nile Districts among the children before the age of 5 years to lack of malaria awareness, pro-activeness among others.

He added that the Socio-Economic Status of Households is some of the determinants of malaria risk factors of Households due to the Inconsistent use of mosquito nets by most members of society, Frequent shortage of malaria drugs in some health facilities, poverty, Poor Housing, Accessibility of health services, incomplete treatment of the disease are some of the factors that has led to resistance of the disease” Kasozi lamented.

The District Health Officer Nebbi Dr.Okwairwoth Justine during the meeting admitted that out of 1,000 children born, 79 do not reach their 5th birthday and the leading cause is due to malaria cases that still remain a Burden and a killer disease.

He noted that since July 2024 to date, Malaria has continued to bear a big burden in the district both socially and economically and is the highest contributor of malaria deaths that occur among children less than 5 years in most communities, particularly in Nebbi district.

“Since malaria still remains a major public health concern accounting to significant morbidity and mortality, especially among children and pregnant women there is need to prioritize all malaria interventions at the district at all levels through massive sensitization of the communities to know that malaria is a number one killer” Dr Okwairwoth said.

The LC vice chairperson Nebbi District Okello Geoffrey also during the meeting, revealed that the importance of health promotion and Disease prevention at the community level in the region needs to be emphasized.

“Although the whole region is experiencing an outbreak of Malaria, the disease burden is still dominated by sanitation-related diseases such as malaria, Acute diarrhoea, Respiratory tract infections, pneumonia, and skin diseases among others,” Okello said.

He added that Key Family Practices on health should be taken seriously since this would help reduce the disease burden and improve the life of all in our communities across the life cycle.

Furthermore, the Deputy Resident District Commissioner Nebbi district Paul Bwere during the meeting also noted that there is a need for continued community health education, interventions and Advocate for Indoor Residual Spraying in today’s society.

He further said due to poor mindset of the dangers of malaria epidemics, most people in the community don’t use mosquito-treated nets during the dry seasons because of the heat and poor Construction designs which leads to difficulties in hanging the nets.

He cautioned local leaders and stakeholders in the district, there is a need to emphasize on prevention rather than cure since most of our people are losing their lives due to malaria disease.