The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa, has asked the Ministry of Health (MOH) to develop a strategy countrywide for spraying mosquitoes so as to eliminate malaria in order to save lives and reduce the high costs of treating it.
Tayebwa made the call during the Malaria Walk held in Kampala on April 21, 2024, ahead of the commemoration of World Malaria Day, which is held on April 25th of every year.
According to Tayebwa, the Minister of Health, Dr. Ruth Aceng, and the World Health Organization (WHO) should reconcile their positions on spraying because countries that have eliminated malaria did it through spraying.
“The other time, Parliament said we couldn’t spray; now that this is a new Parliament, we are going to take charge. We are going to push it on the floor; we shall provide the money, and Parliament will not interfere as long as you feel that is the right thing to do. If Rwanda has sprayed, if Kenya has sprayed, if Tanzania has sprayed and malaria has gone, you scientists, agree with each other,” Tayebwa said.
He noted that as leaders, they don’t need to go and invent the wheel; they are going to make decisions to have country-wide spraying, and Parliament shall give money for spraying.
He added that a person from Mitooma doesn’t know the Ministry of Health’s negotiations and politics of disagreeing with WHO; they don’t even know WHO, though it is our biggest partner. What they want is to eliminate malaria.
In response, the Minister of Health, Dr. Aceng, promised to ensure the nationwide strategy of eliminating malaria is brought to Parliament. She called for increased funding for malaria elimination using locally generated resources in order to cover the gap that will be left by donors who have indicated plans to reduce funding to Uganda in order to focus on more global challenges.
Among the delegates that participated were the Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa, Members of Parliament (MPs), MOH and other MDA staff, the private sector, and some members of the public.
According to statistics from the World Health Organization, Uganda was ranked 3rd on the list of globally burdened countries with at least 12 million malaria cases reported annually, while the 2021 World Malaria Report ranked Uganda as the 5th top contributor to global malaria deaths.
