World Malaria Day: Rwanda takes on malaria in progressing steps
Two years ago, Jovia Uwababyeyi contracted malaria and spent time getting treatment in a hospital.
In the days leading up to that point, the 47-year-old mother of four had been busy working on a rice field where she earned a living.
"Unfortunately, I contracted malaria during a busy rainy season.
"I spent a few days in hospital in 2020. I wasn't really feeling myself.
"A few days later, two of my children fell sick from malaria, forcing them to miss school,'' Uwababyeyi told Xinhua ahead of the World Malaria Day that fell on Monday.
Uwababyeyi is a resident of the Gasabo district on the outskirts of Rwanda's capital city, Kigali.
In the swampy areas of the Gasabo district, malaria infection was common among many residents.
Uwababyeyi rolled up the sleeves of her blouse and gently showed where she was injected during treatment.
"We continued to suffer from malaria at home even when we slept under mosquito nets.
"I suspect mosquito nets protected us during sleep but we were not protected when we went out in the rice fields. Malaria breeds poverty,'' she added.
Surrounded by wetlands, a mosquito breeding ground, almost monthly one member of Uwababyeyi's family used to be infected with malaria, causing disruption to their productive work.
Luckily, this is no more following a new government intervention.
On March 10, 2020, in Uwababyeyi's area, Rwanda's Ministry of Health launched a pilot tech-driven programme to test the effectiveness of using drones in the fight against malaria in high-risk zones.
This has been tested and it has proven effective.
Under the programme, a mapping drone was used to identify the mosquito eggs and another drone was used to spray in accordance with the exact coordinate.
Aimable Mbituyumuremyi, the malaria and other parasitic diseases division manager at Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), told Xinhua that by using drones, the ministry hoped to essentially kill mosquito larvae in their habitats before they mature into mosquitoes, and protect people from a disease that claims more than half a million lives every year, most of them in Africa.
"Drones are used as a pilot programme in the Jabana sector in Gasabo district to assess their effectiveness.
"The results showed a significant reduction in mosquitoes in the area after spraying using drones,'' he said.
This year, the programme would be expanded to six districts to supplement other malaria preventive measures in place, and results from there would inform authorities on whether to widely roll it out.
Between 2017 and 2021, Rwanda reduced malaria cases by 76 per cent, according to data released on Saturday by RBC.
In 2021, around 1.1 million malaria cases were registered; down from 4.8 million cases in 2017, it showed.
For severe malaria, 1,900 cases were registered in 2021, down from 11,000 cases in 2017, representing an 85 per cent reduction.
In terms of fatalities, 69 related deaths were registered in 2021, down from 706 in 2016, a reduction of about 90 per cent.
Meanwhile, malaria incidents were reduced from 409 out of 1,000 people in 2017 to 86 out of 1,000 in 2021, a significant improvement meaning "the country is moving toward eradicating malaria.''
Mbituyumuremyi said that the significant reduction in malaria cases was attributable to a combination of preventive measures.
These include: the distribution of free mosquito bed nets, indoor residual spraying, awareness campaigns, and the use of mosquito repellants.
The ministry had also scaled up malaria treatment using community health workers.
"Currently, community health workers treat 60 per cent of all malaria cases, up from 52 per cent in 2017.
"This meant that the patients access timely treatment which has played a key role in reducing fatalities,'' he said.
Indoor residual spraying has been applied in about 15 districts of the country which are worst affected by malaria.
Malaria cases could rise in April and May because of the rainy season, Mbituyumuremyi warned and urged people to tighten preventive measures.
"Malaria is still with us, affecting different age groups across the country. We should all play our roles and own up to the existing preventive measures to protect ourselves and our family members,'' he said.
As the world marks World Malaria Day on April 25, Rwanda would use the occasion to step up awareness campaigns and indoor residual spraying, as well as distribute deworming tablets and mosquito nets.
This year, the government is set to distribute about eight million mosquito bed nets, according to Mbituyumuremyi.
Malaria is a preventable, treatable disease but every year, malaria sickens more than 200 million people and killed more than 600,000, according to the World Health Organisation.
Most of the victims are young children in Africa, who are most vulnerable.
