Africa-Press – Mozambique. The Planning and Budget Commission (CPO) of the Mozambican Parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, has expressed its concern at the persistence of high rates of malaria and malnutrition in the northern province of Nampula.
The parliamentarians from the CPO, who are inspecting the government’s action in Nampula, expressed their concern on Tuesday in an interview with AIM, on the sidelines of a meeting with the provincial governor and the secretary of state of that province.
Data presented by the provincial governor, Manuel Rodrigues, indicate that in the first half of this year “1,529,863 cases of malaria were reported, with 44 deaths. In the same period of 2021, there were 1,491,070 cases with 34 deaths”. There had therefore been an increase in cases of 2.6 per cent and of deaths of 29.4 per cent.
According to the CPO chairperson, António Niquice, “the challenges persist with regard to malaria which is a disease with significant public health implications, and we are leaving recommendations for the government to tackle this problem.”
Niquice regretted the fact that a considerable part of the Mozambican population resorts to traditional medicine as its primary source of care. He argued that it is urgent to work together with “traditional doctors” so that they advise patients in time to receive adequate hospital treatment, “because malaria can be cured.”
“There is a significant degree of mortality due to malaria, so prevention measures, hygiene, sanitation, and the use of mosquito nets are necessary, especially for pregnant women. It is necessary to let the communities know that malaria has a cure”, he explained.
Niquice also expressed concern at the high rates of malnutrition in Nampula, despite the large production of food that is reported.
“Nutritional health is worrying. We still have serious problems in the province. We notice that a lot of food, in quantity and variety, is produced, so it is a matter of dietary education”, he said.
In this regard, Niquice added “we note a great effort by the provincial government to ensure food and nutritional security, with a great level of production. The province must continue to promote better eating habits so that citizens, especially children, can enjoy what it produces.”
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