Households to be sprayed to fight Malaria

The launch of the National Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) to counter Malaria will be done in Xakao village by the riverside this Friday, a day also earmarked for the SADC Malaria Day commemoration.

Themed ‘United to end Malaria,’ the commemoration will start with a walk from Mashosho to the riverside at 0600hours.
The head of the Okavango District Health Management Team (DHMT), Dr Alex Kalongi said the spraying is intended to protect at least 85percent of the population by 2017.

It will cover the whole district, especially the hotspots of Malaria including Shakawe, the Chobe enclave right through to Bodikwa.IRS is the application of long-lasting insecticides on the walls and roofs of houses to kill female Anopheles mosquitoes  which cause malaria.

According to Dr Kalongi, most mosquitoes enter houses during the night to feed on occupants’ blood and rest on the walls or roofs prior to and after feeding. With effective residual spray insecticide, the mosquitoes will pick up the lethal dose as they rest. IRS additionally controls other household pests such as bedbugs, cockroaches, houseflies, lice, fleas and others, making it cost effective as they spend less treatment on related diseases.

The spraying campaign is targeted at protecting huge populations at a time with a special focus on children under 5 years, as well as pregnant women. This is achieved by reducing the rate of malaria infections when the vector population is reduced and since Botswana began implementing IRS, large populace has enjoyed protection under the program.

Statistics show that the country has over the past 14 years  reduced the incidence of malaria from 42 cases per 1,000 of the population in the year 2000, to 0.23 per 1,000 in 2013. The country has a little over 513 malaria related cases registered already. It is hoped that by 2020, Botswana will have reduced annual malaria deaths to near zero.