Zimbabwe says malaria prevalence falls 79%

Zimbabwe managed to cut malaria prevalence by 79 percent in the last 17 years, Vice President and Health and Child Care Minister Constantino Chiwenga, said.

Chiwenga said that the country was on the path to achieving the goals of the global malaria control strategy.

He made the remarks on Sunday as Zimbabwe joined the rest of the world to celebrate World Malaria Day, which ran under the theme: “Zero Malaria – Draw the Line Against Malaria.”

It is everyone’s responsibility to stop the spread of malaria and avoid deaths, the Herald newspaper, in its Monday editions, quoted him as saying.

Chiwenga urged Zimbabweans to take “appropriate malaria interventions — sleeping under the net, allowing houses to be sprayed and going for testing and treatment of malaria within 24 hours of symptoms.”

“Zero malaria starts with me,” he said.

Zimbabwe has set a target of cutting malaria incidence and mortality rates by at least 90 per cent by 2030.