Parliamentary forum on malaria adopts Strategic plan to control escalating malaria cases countrywide

By Sadique Bamwita

The Uganda parliamentary forum on Malaria headed by Dr. Timothy Batuwa Lusala has adopted a strategic plan 2023_2025 in it’s efforts to scale down cases of malaria disease in the country .The legislators have also  dedicated the month of April to commemorate malaria with series of activities lined up. 

The legislators say that if the approved strategic plan is well implemented, the country will be free of malaria by 2025 despite the disease currently being number one killer in the country.

The chairperson Uganda parliamentary Forum on Malaria, Dr. Timothy Batuwa Lusala, said though Parliament has adopted a Strategic plan to fight against malaria, this plan may not fully actualize because of  little financial  resources appropriated towards the  fight against malaria disease.

” To end malaria in Uganda, we need to bridge the gap between health experts and policy makers. We intend to organize a malaria walk and this campaign is hoped to raise awareness on malaria in addition to helping to identify areas of collaboration.

‘” Karamoja region tops the regions with highest malaria cases and followed by Busoga region because these regions are geographically surrounded by wetlands.

“There is need to increase the budget for malaria fight and short of this,  the strategic plan may be rendered impotent without enough financial resources.

The chairperson of parliamentary Health committee, Dr. Charles Ayume, said the strategic plan though sounds good on paper, it may suffer premature death since most donor partners have started pulling out from funding the program.

“Government should increase malaria budget from Shs 20 billion to a tune of Shs 50 billion and once this is done this will easy smooth running of campaigns intended to fight against malaria disease burden.”

The Butaleja district Woman Legislator, Hon. Florence Nebanda, said the strategic plan has come at the right time when a number of children below 6years die daily in her constituency and called on government to scale up indoor residual spraying in her area.

“We need to enhance wages for village health teams so as to motivate them to work.”

The Legislator for Malacha East constituency in West Nile, Hon. Ruth Molly Ondoru, tasked government  through the ministry of Health to conduct more research on indoor residual spraying so as to factor in environmental issues.

The assistant commisioner in-charge of health services malaria program at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Jimmy Opigo, said despite the approved  strategic plan  in place, the health  ministry is working harder to develop Anti- malaria drugs so as to eradicate malaria in the country.

He advised the general public that in case of contracting malaria, they should get treatment early enough before the malaria parasites spread fast adding that one malaria case requires Shs 50,000 to treat it yet malaria can be avoided if one closes his house windows before it’s dark.