Africa-Press – Angola. The national coordinator of the Malaria Fighting Program said that, of the total number of cases diagnosed this year, 3,980 ended in deaths. Last year, he said, there were 3,206 deaths.
A total of 2,580,388 cases of malaria were diagnosed in various health facilities across the country during the first quarter of the current year. The data were made public yesterday in Luanda by the national coordinator of the Malaria Fight Program.
José Martins, who was speaking in reference to the World Malaria Day, marked yesterday, said that, if we compare to the data of the first sadly of 2021, in which 2,081,374 cases were diagnosed, it can be said that there was an increase of 24 percent.
The national coordinator of the Malaria Fighting Program added that, of the total number of cases diagnosed this year, 3,980 ended in deaths. Last year, he said, there were 3,206 deaths.
He explained that the increase in cases of death is due to the late demand for health services. According to José Martins, the provinces with the most cases of malaria diagnosed were Luanda, Huambo, Uíge, Benguela, Bié and Cuanza-Sul, with children under five and pregnant women being the main victims of the disease throughout the country.
“The Ministry of Health, when designing its strategies aimed at reducing the impact of the disease, prioritizes pregnant women and children under five years old. This includes the distribution of mosquito nets in prenatal consultations and intermittent and preventive treatment of malaria, the from the 13th week of pregnancy until delivery”, highlighted José Martins.
The coordinator of the Program to Combat Malaria said that the increase in cases in hospitals is due to the huge demand for health services, as a result of the increase in health units in the country and the presence of Health Development Agents (ADECOS) in the communities.
José Martins guaranteed that the health units have enough medicines to combat malaria, as a result of the advance contacts that the Ministry of Health has made.
“The early contacts of the Ministry of Health served to safeguard stocks, due to the bottleneck that the pandemic caused in the global supply chain”, he informed.
In relation to the adulteration and counterfeiting of anti-malarial drugs, José Martins said that it is a problem that is being treated by the competent authorities. “When you have to acquire any medicine, you must do it in appropriate places”, appealed José Martins, adding that Angola is in the group of countries that must eliminate malaria by 2030.
One Of The Leading Causes Of Death
Malaria represents about 35 percent of the demand for corrective care, 20 percent of hospital admissions, 40 percent of perinatal deaths and 20 percent of maternal mortality, said yesterday in Ndalatando (Cuanza-Norte), the Secretary of State for Public Health.
Franco Mufinda, who was speaking at the central act of the World Malaria Day, added that the disease is the main public health problem in Angola and one of the main causes of death, work absenteeism, low birth weight, anemia in pregnant women and maternal mortality.
Sticking to the survey of multiple health indicators, carried out between 2015 and 2016, he said that the prevalence of malaria in Angola is 14 percent, affecting mainly the rural area.
He added that, from the beginning of September 2017 to the present date, the epidemiological surveillance system in Angola has been registering an increase in the number of cases and deaths from malaria throughout the country, and some cases in the form of an epidemic outbreak, with emphasis on the provinces of Uíge, Luanda, Malanje, Bié and Cuanza-Sul.
“We are fully aware that, among the communicable diseases, malaria ends up having a greater weight in the infant and juvenile mortality rate recorded in Angola, also causing the death of several pregnant women, for this reason there is a set of strategies aimed at reducing the disease”, he advanced, making it known that a mosquito net distribution campaign is open, mainly for children and pregnant women.
The first six provinces to benefit from the distribution of mosquito nets, donated by the United States Agency for Development (USAID), are Cuanza-Norte, Malanje, Zaire, Uíge, Lunda-Sul and Lunda Norte, with a total of four million mosquito nets. , for more than six million people, according to Franco Mufinda, who announced that the Government of Angola is waiting, in the coming days, for the arrival of another ten million mosquito nets, to be distributed to the other provinces.
USAID representative in Angola, Julie Nenon, who attended the opening of the national campaign for the distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets, said that the Government of the United States and the Government of the Republic of Angola have, since 2006, a strong partnership for the prevention and malaria control, which was reflected in a 50 percent reduction in malaria deaths between 2016 and 2019.
“Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has affected these advances, causing an increase in the number of cases and deaths from malaria across the country”, he said, adding that the United States Government, through the Initiative of the President of the United States against Malaria, with the coordination of the Ministry of Health, through the National Malaria Control Program, developed and implemented the first digital training platform called KASSAI, which allows health technicians to take online courses, with the aim of improving knowledge in the management of malaria cases, sexual reproductive health, maternal and child health, family planning and Covid-19″, he underlined.
He explained that the US has increased investments in health promotion, testing and treatment of simple malaria in communities, in six provinces of Angola with high malaria transmission, which resulted, in 2021, in an increase in early case notifications, to 11 percent, and a decrease in deaths by 20 percent. “This means that children under five are living a healthier childhood, women experience safe pregnancies and adults are more productive and contribute to the country’s economic growth.”
He reiterated that the use of mosquito nets continues to be the surest way to prevent malaria and that the distribution campaigns for treated mosquito nets aim to control and reduce the transmission of the disease. He made it known that for the 2022 campaign, the US has invested more than eight million dollars, in the purchase of more than four million mosquito nets, for the benefit of almost seven million people.
The deputy governor of Cuanza-Norte for the Political, Social and Economic Sector said that, in the first quarter of this year, 105,496 cases of malaria were reported in the region, of which 80 resulted in deaths. She added that 295,098 mosquito nets are expected to be distributed in the province of Cuanza-Norte.
Manuel Fontoura | Ndalating
Doctoral Courses
Angola wants to count on the support of the Center for Malaria and Tropical Diseases of Universidade Nova de Lisboa (Portugal) for the training of staff at the doctoral level, according to the director of the aforementioned centre, Filomeno Fortes, who reports the increase in cases of death from malaria, zika and chikungunya in endemic countries. The specialist in tropical diseases, speaking yesterday to Rádio Nacional, defends the need to create more regional centers for malaria and tropical diseases, due to the increased risk of transmission, due to the growth of the world migratory movement.
The Universidade Nova de Lisboa, he said, has a new research center, specialized in tropical diseases, such as malaria, dengue and chikungunya, whose inauguration was witnessed by representatives from Angola.
“I have been seeing an increase in mortality, mainly from malaria, dengue, chikungunya, zika and other similar diseases. Therefore, this infrastructure of ours is perfectly justified. For the future, we fear that these diseases could spread with climate change and the great migratory movement taking place worldwide”.
The Angolan Minister Of Higher Education, Science
and Technology of Innovation, Maria do Rosário Bragança, who witnessed the inauguration by videoconference, hopes that Angolan students will have the opportunity to train at the doctoral level, with the support of the aforementioned centre.
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