Kisumu County has registered a significant drop in Malaria disease prevalence from 27 percent in 2015 to the current 19 percent.
This follows a raft of measures rolled out by the government and development partners to tame the killer disease.
It involved the mass distribution of insecticide-treated nets, accurate diagnosis and treatment of the disease and vector control.
Speaking in Kisumu during a workshop themed ‘Tackling Malaria within the Kenya Nile basin’ in commemorating World Malaria Day 2025, Kisumu County Malaria Control Coordinator Lilyana Dayo asked all stakeholders not to relent in the fight against Malaria.
She added that they have also trained all Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) on screening and treatment of non-complicated malaria.
“Our CHVs have been trained and equipped with rapid testing kits and drugs for accurate diagnosis and treatment of uncomplicated malaria within the community,” Dayo said.
Another game changer was the sensitization on proper usage of mosquito nets and indoor residual spraying to kill mosquitoes.
“Initially, we had cases of misuse of the nets where some people used them for fishing and covering kitchen gardens but we have done proper sensitization to tame the malpractices,” she said.
Dayo urged stakeholders to ensure that the disease is eradicated. She called for timely diagnosis and prompt treatment of the ailment.
She expressed her concerns about the poor treatment practices that have led to resistance of the disease to some drugs.
According to Dayo, the county has so far distributed 793,740 treated mosquito nets through the National Malaria Control Programme to aid in the fight against the disease.
So far, she said 316, 373 households in the area were mapped and registered to benefit from the free nets.
“Sleep under the nets to ensure that the gains made in the fight against the disease are not reversed.”
The county government, she added, continues to periodically spray selected areas, but hastened to add that not all areas can be covered due to cost implications.
Bernard Okebe, Community Empowerment and Media Initiative in Kisumu (CEMI-K) Program Manager said it’s high time community groups and various stakeholders looked into the nexus between Malaria and Environmental conservation efforts since the two are interconnected.
The organization focuses on both Health and Environmental Conservation among other key thematic areas.
” Preventive measures should also focus on environmental concerns in the fight against Malaria. This year’s theme is to Re-ignite and Re-invest in the Malaria control initiatives,” Okebe emphasized during the event graced by participants drawn from the Kenya Nile Discourse Forum of the River Nile Basin.
He further urged various stakeholders to do things in unusual ways in concerted efforts if the world is to triumph in the war against Malaria.
AMMREN’s Executive Secretary Dr. Charity Binka, in a speech, urged the Media and other stakeholders to re-focus on the fight against Malaria.
Nile discourse secretary Joseph Ngome said Malaria remains a killer ailment.
