02 Mar 2025

Malaria has claimed one life in Okavango District with the area registering 25 cases since October last year.

Briefing the Okavango District Council full meeting on malaria status, the Okavango District Health Management Team (DHMT) coordinator Dr Bokwena Moali said there were a total of 511 cases recorded since the Malaria season commenced. She said most cases were children aged between five and 24 years, including three pregnant women.

Dr Moali said that most of the affected villages were those on the eastern side of Okavango such as Kauxwi, Beetsha, Ngarange and Sekondoboro. She said most recorded cases this time were in villages than cattle posts as compared to past case scenarios whereby most cases were in the cattle post.

Dr Moali however said that people mainly got infected in cattle posts and lands then moved to villages. The Okavango District, she said accounted for about 80 per cent of Malaria cases in the country, therefore said priority should be its elimination.

She said the challenges experienced in Malaria elimination were unsprayed structures since some houses, especially in the cattle post did not have doors and windows, hence impossible to use Indoor Residual Spray (IRS) used to control the disease.

Some house structures, she said did not support use of mosquito nets while some people failed to use the bed nets provided, hence efforts to control Malaria proved futile. Dr Moali said there were still cases of people reluctant to allow IRS in their houses, which also worked against Malaria elimination efforts.

She therefore called for collaborative efforts and leadership involvement to mitigate Malaria. Dr Moali said employing Malaria interventions woud lead to its elimination. ENDS