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Health Ministry having tough time controlling malaria

Sep 21, 2009 News

– mining creating new breeding grounds

 

By Fareeza Haniff

 

The Ministry of Health is having a tough time keeping the malaria situation under control in Guyana, Health Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy disclosed during a media briefing on Saturday.

He explained that the situation is one that is worsening, given the increased economic activities in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine, where more mining is taking place.

According to the Health Minister, in many Amerindian communities, concessions are being given out by the villagers themselves.

In these areas, he noted that the way mining is done leaves breeding sites for the mosquitoes and this has provided a huge challenge for the Health Ministry.

“In some ways therefore, whilst the reduction in terms of malaria has been small compared to previous years, I think it’s a remarkable achievement that the health workers have been able to maintain the lower figures in the face of new breeding grounds being created,” Minister Ramsammy explained.

However, what is troubling at this point for the Ministry of Health is the fact that out of the 6,700 malaria cases that have been recorded thus far, 51 per cent of them are of the more serious type of malaria.

This, Dr. Ramsammy said, coincides with the kind of increase in the involvement of the private sector in the selling of anti – malarial drugs.

At one time, the Health Ministry had succeeded in getting the private sector to desist from selling these drugs in the hinterland areas, since some of the drugs are not recommended drugs and people who use them do not want to be tested for malaria. The possibility exists that they may treat themselves with the wrong medication.

Over the years, the Ministry has been involved in the provision of the long-lasting impregnated nets, which has assisted in reducing malaria cases tremendously.

Thus far, 60,000 nets have been distributed in a number of regions and according to Minister Ramsammy, another 50,000 are being procured and will be distributed for free in parts of Regions Two, Ten and Six, along with other Amerindian communities.

However, according to the Health Minister, while there is the infusion of more nets into the region to maintain status quo, it will not help in the further reduction of malaria and thus, the Ministry will have to look at other strategies. One of these strategies he said includes the use of residual spray. In this regard, come 2010, the Health Ministry will increase the capacity for residual spray in the hinterland regions.

“Unfortunately, residual spraying will only work where people are living in permanent residences…it can’t work in camps and when people are moving around and fogging will not help in most of the hinterland regions and in the forested areas and so on,” Minister Ramsammy said.

Despite this, Dr. Ramsammy noted that the Ministry of Health is on target to attain a figure of under 10,000 cases of malaria for 2009.

“I would have wished that the kind of reduction we had in 2008 over 2007 and 2006 would have been maintained, but this year the reduction has been far less and in fact over last year’s figures.

At this time, we would have less than ten per cent reduction.” 

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