Regional Plan to be formulated to eliminate Malaria in Region Nine

The Ministry of Health is set to develop a comprehensive regional plan in 2025 to eliminate malaria in Region Nine, in collaboration with Harvard University.

This announcement was made by Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony during a recent visit to the region.

Dr Anthony highlighted that malaria remains a prevalent infectious disease in the area, requiring urgent action.

“The programme is not to control Malaria because we have been trying to do that all along; we are now trying to eliminate it from this region. In January, we have a team coming from Harvard University to this region, they will be accompanied by our ministry,” the minister explained.

The minister acknowledged the challenges of past efforts but expressed confidence that the upcoming plan, rooted in modern scientific approaches, would yield success.

“We will be using modern scientific techniques to develop this plan. We are extremely confident that we will be able to eliminate malaria in this region. We look forward to working with you during this process,” the minister noted.

Over the years the ministry has been working aggressively to eliminate various diseases across the country such as Lymphatic Filariasis, Tuberculosis (TB), and Dengue among others. The plan is to eliminate these diseases by 2030.

In July of this year, the ministry launched a filaria campaign targeting Regions Three and Four.

These efforts are backed by tangible results, as several diseases have already been eradicated in other regions.

The $129.8 billion allocated to the health sector in the 2024 budget underscores the government’s commitment to implementing disease elimination strategies and bolstering healthcare systems.