Govt to recruit 5,000 workers to fight malaria

The Ministry of Health has announced a mass Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) exercise in 13 high-burden districts in West Nile and Lango sub-regions to combat the malaria upsurge and reduce deaths. 

While flagging off the activity yesterday in Kampala, Dr Henry Mwebesa, the director general of Health Services, said $8.5m (Shs32b) has been provided by the Global Fund for the exercise. 

“We are targeting districts where the malaria burden is very high starting November. IRS is a powerful intervention which rapidly reduces adult mosquito vector density and longevity thus interrupting malaria transmission,” he said.

The districts include Madi Okollo, Koboko, Terego, Maracha, Adjumani, Arua, Yumbe, Moyo, Obongi, Dokolo, Kalaki, Amolator, and Kaberamaido. 

Malaria kills around 14 people per day in Uganda and causes an annual economic loss of $500 million (Shs1.9 trillion) due to treatment costs and work time lost, according to government statistics and other research reports. Around 35 districts in the country are experiencing the malaria upsurge, according to the Health ministry. 

Dr Jimmy Opigo, the head of the National Malaria Control Programme, said procurement was done by the donor. The money has been spent to buy PVC gum boats, insecticide (Fludora Fusion), hand-held compressor sprayers (pumps), respiratory masks, information materials, long and short gloves, safety face shields with the head brand, safety helmets, aprons and infrared thermometer. 

Dr Opigo said they will train and work with 5,000 workers who will be moving from house to house to spray the walls. He said each person will be paid Shs22,000 per day.

“Indoor residual spraying is a very difficult job. We shall start by training the workers and we shall deploy about three people per village. They will work for 24 days, so each person is getting around Shs600,000,” he said. 

He added: “For the Fludora Fusion (insecticide), they offered the donor about $16 (Shs60,000) per sachet. But then there is the shipping cost. At Quality Chemicals, each sachet is about $20 (Shs76,000),” he said. Each sachet is 100 grammes. 

The Ministry urged the public to embrace the IRS, saying it is safer and saves the family from catastrophic spending and pain associated with malaria. The insecticide, which is sprayed on the wall, protects for about 5-6 months. 

Dr Opigo said the country last used Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) in 1970s, an insecticide which has been banned by many countries because of effects on non-target organisms and people.