By Robert Ojok

Gulu

A malaria pilot program campaign targeting 310-households from 5-villages in Purongo Sub County and Anaka town council being implemented by TASO and malaria consortium has been launched in Nwoya district.

While launching the pilot campaign dubbed “Household Champion against malaria model”, Rukia Nakamatte, behavior change communication specialist in the ministry of health believes that the success of this initiative shall provide platform to roll out the program in the entire country in line with mass action against malaria and campaign for chase malaria to zero.

However, Jackline Judith Abalo, the secretary for social services for Nwoya district decries inadequate funding as one of the challenges frustrating the fight against malaria.

Health officials in Nwoya district revealed that the sub counties Bordering Murchison Falls National Game Park are being burdened with high cases of malaria.
Isaac Okello, the acting district health officer of Nwoya notes that the most Sub counties are Got Apwoyo, Purongo, Anaka and Koch Lii.

Okello added that out of 840 patient attendance recorded in the month of march this year in Got-Apwoyo sub county alone, 503 were positive of malaria scoring 60 percent of the disease burden.

The Area member of parliament of Nwoya East Charles Geoffrey Okello implores researches to interest themselves in traditional interventions of fighting Malaria, adding that the government seems to be lacking a will to fight malaria because only 6-milllion dollars are always budgeted for the fight against malaria in spite of the donor support of over 200-million dollars under the Global Fund.

In the pilot, community Health workers in the project areas shall be equipped with monitoring and reporting tools including smart phone to fast-truck the disease burden and medication in the areas. Nwoya and Kayunga are the two districts in the entire country where the program is being piloted.

COVER PHOTO: Stakeholders attending the Malaria campaign pilot  launch By Robert Ojok