Govt flags off nationwide malaria survey 

The government has launched the Malaria Indicator Survey (MIS) to determine the disease prevalence and utilisation of available prevention methods for the killer disease.

During the launch at the Ministry headquarters in Kampala on Friday, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the Minister of Health, said the data will allow for better planning in a race to become a malaria-free country by 2030.  

Dr Aceng appealed to data collectors to ensure accurate information is collected to enable the country to address over 4,000 malaria deaths registered annually.

“Data is a key aspect in decision making and the country needs up-to-date quality data as we strive towards malaria elimination,” Dr Aceng observed. “Uganda has persistently been ranked among the top 10 contributors of the malaria burden globally and we are third in line to Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo.” 

The Minister also revealed that Uganda accounts for 5.1 percent of the total cases and 3.2 percent of deaths worldwide. The survey, which will run for 60 days led by Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), will see teams conduct the exercise in about 9500 households in 15 sub-regions (Kampala and 14 district domains) of the country and three refugee settlements. The survey will target women aged 15-49 and children aged 6- 59 months.

Dr Jimmy Opigo, the Malaria Control Programme manager at the Ministry of Health explained that in this indicator survey, they will test people for malaria parasite prevalence.
“We will [also] categorise symptomatic and asymptomatic cases to specifically estimate the size of a symptomatic malaria which will guide our efforts towards elimination,’’ Dr Opigo clarified.
 Dr Chris Mukiza, the executive director of Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) urged enumerators to aim at getting correct data to ensure a proper strategic plan.

“You’ve heard the importance of data for fighting malaria. I want you to collect real and accurate data of the households visited although we have the mechanism to monitor them. None of you has never suffered from malaria so ensure that you give us correct data from the respondents,” he told data collectors.