Anti-Malaria Drive

The campaign, which ends on June 3, will be held in six districts of Nyanza, Muhanga, Kamonyi, Gasabo, Kicukiro, and Nyarugenge.

On Thursday, a team of officials led by Radegonde Ndejuru, the Director General of Imbuto Foundation, visited Mageragere Sector in Nyarugenge District and reminded the population about the use of preventive methods to protect them against malaria.

Ndejuru urged residents, especially pregnant women and mothers with children below the age of five to ensure that they sleep under treated mosquito nets to protect themselves and their children against malaria.

“Malaria still exists and remains a killer disease so you have to use the nets for purposes they are not meant for,” Ndejuru said.

The foundation, which is an initiative of First Lady Jeannette Kagame, has held annual campaigns against malaria since 2009.

Emmanuel Rutubuka, a sector leader in Mageragere said the malaria incidence has greatly reduced in his area due to the continuous campaigns and distribution of free mosquito nets.

“We used to have many cases of malaria but now there are hardly any although sometimes we record about two cases a month. The awareness campaigns play a big role and now few people can misuse the nets or sell them off because they know how helpful they are,” he said.

Some of the activities expected to take place include rewarding three best health centres in each of the six districts to encourage them play a more active role in fighting malaria.

The health centres to be rewarded will receive a 32-inch flat screen television and a DVD player with malaria prevention and control DVDs.

Imbuto Foundation’s malaria project started in 2009 and is implemented countrywide by nine NGOs working with all 71 health centres and six district hospitals which operate in the area.

Rwanda has shown a significant decrease of 65 per cent in malaria cases since 2000 which is derived from the government’s commitment to ensure universal health insurance, artemisinin-based combination therapy and the distribution of long-lasting insecticide nets as well as the use of community health workers.