The Ministry of Health has launched the distribution exercise of free
mosquito nets across the country. The exercise will start next week until the
end of the year.
The ceremony was held on Tuesday at the warehouse for National Medical Stores-NMS in
Katabi Town Council, Entebbe municipality.
So far only 4.5 million mosquito nets out of the 27 million have
been procured. The first
batch will be distributed in 25 districts that were hit most by floods around
Lake Kyoga and in districts with high prevalence rate of malaria.
The districts are Namutumba, Paliisa, Bukwo, Dokolo, Lira, Soroti,
Kween and Kibuku. Others are Bududa, Budaka, Mbale, Serere and Namisindwa
districts among others.
Dr Diana Atwine, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health says that
the Global Fund and the United States government contributed 446.8 billion
shillings to procure and distribute the nets.
The distribution was supposed to take place in February but was
delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Atwine said that the ministry has tasked NMS to handle the
procurement, storage and transportation of the mosquito nets because of its capacity
to reach the entire country.
According to Atwine, the mosquito nets will be distributed door to
door by the Village Health Teams assisted by local area leaders.
//Cue in: "And we want...
Cue out:...forge a form."/
Jimmy Opigo, the Assistant Commissioner for Health Services at the
National Malaria Control Division says malaria kills between 14 to 16 people
daily, resulting in 4,000 deaths annually.
