Uganda’s Minister of Health, Jane Ruth Aceng (pictured) has revealed that between January and March 2022, Uganda lost 628 pregnant mothers and children after contracting malaria.
The minister made the revelation while responding to Parliament’s resolution to strengthen efforts to prevent, control and eliminate by 2030 where she detailed updated lawmakers on Malaria burden as per figures gathered within the first three months of 2022.
In her statement, the Minister informed Parliament that Uganda is currently experiencing on increased burden of malaria since 2019 and called for the urgent need to avert the trend in order to save lives.
“All malaria deaths-628 were reported. 371 deaths about 15% were in children under five years and of the 628 deaths, 41 deaths (7%) were among pregnant women,” Minister Aceng said.
While detailing the malaria burden in Uganda, the Minister said that in the same period, there were 11,251,900 outpatient visits in health facilities, 3,156,500 had malaria, and of these positive cases, 774,480 were recorded among children under five years.
According to the Ministry of Health, 489,900 women reported for their first antenatal between January-March 2022, 80,900 had malaria and for the inpatient Malaria burden, of the 804,470 total admissions, 61,160 (8%) of people were admitted with malaria.
Fred Kayondo (Mukono South) asked Government to strengthen National Drug Authority in the management of the effectiveness and quality of pharmaceuticals on the market because at the moment, Uganda is flooded with unethical pharmaceuticals selling drugs on the market and also tasked the Ministry of Health to rethink the malaria treatment used in Uganda.
He said, “We have used one formulation for the last 25years. These mosquitoes have mutated and they are dealing with a mutant, that is why they are resisting they can’t die because you have used the same exposure for the last 25years, how I request the Ministry to change the formulation. There are so many formulations that can be used to kill these mosquitoes.”
Flavia Nabagabe (Kassanda DWR) decried the limited accessibility of malaria drugs in health centres where patients go to health centres and there are no malaria drugs and called for increased funding into maternal health.
“Also the Minister has read and with great concern and I am deeply disturbed that 8,000 women go to health centres with malaria and we also know that malaria is one of the leading causes of miscarriages. I have had encounters with women who have lost their pregnancies through malaria even without knowing they have it. Over 20% of young girls between the ages of 15-24 have also lost pregnancies as a result of malaria. We need to focus our priority on women’s maternal health,” explained Nabagabe.
Jenipher Namuyangu, State Minister for Local Government cited her area Kibuku district and the neighbouring districts that are losing children to malaria remarking, “We have a very bad situation where children are dying in bid numbers. Tehse children develop fever with high temperature with headache but they also end up within a few days urinating blood and they become anemic and these children if there is need for blood transfusion, they have to be referred to Mbale Regional Referral hospital, there is no blood bank nearby.”
Bukomansimbi DWR’s Veronica Nanyondo asked the Ministry of Health to ensure that the distribution of mosquito nets to be put at the health centers where pregnant mothers go for antenatal in order to avoid scenarios of the nets falling into hands of people who don’t value them and divert them into fishing or farming.
Amos Okot (Agago North) asked the Ministry of Health to intervene into the too many fake drugs on the market in order to save lives noting, “We need to strengthen the monitoring of drug resistant because you may be taking drugs for malaria and at the same time the parasite doesn’t leave and at times somebody dying because diagnosis takes some time.”
Maurice Kibalya (Bugabula South) questioned the claim by the Minister about issuance of the mosquito nets to pregannat mother stating, “The Minister said they give nets to pregnant ladies when they go for antenatal, maybe in Kampala, I haven’t seen it in Kamuli and Busoga.”
Minister Aceng also revealed that there are several districts experiencing an increase in the number of malaria cases and the most affected regions include; Karamoja, Bukedi, Busogo, and Lango.
In response, the ministry of Health claims to have significantly increased the diagnostics and medicines allocations; distribution of insecticide treated mosquito nets through antenatal and child immunization clinics.
