By Faith Nyasuguta
Some 377,599 new Malaria cases were registered in Angola’s northern Malanje province in the first six months of 2021.
According to Luis Demba, the supervisor of the provincial program of the fight against malaria, about 268 people succumbed to Malaria at the same timeline.
Demba confirmed that the new figures are a rise in the number of cases but a drop in fatalities when compared to the same period last year.
Angola’s Health Minister Silvia Lutucuta said that Malanje is among the most affected regions by Malaria in Angola.
Earlier in the month, minister Lutucuta said that Angola registered about 3.8 million Malaria cases and 5,573 deaths between January and May 2021.
The figures indicate a rise in cases, but a drop in deaths when compared to the same period of 2020.
“Malaria is the leading cause of death in the country, affecting more pregnant women and children under five years old in terms of mortality,” Lutucuta said.
The minister indicated that the majority of the deaths were reported in vulnerable homes experiencing severe anemia, malnutrition, and complications linked to malaria.
Angola’s ministry of health has thus vowed to strengthen its methodological guidelines, with provinces and municipalities called upon to make them operational via the implementation of a multi-sector contingency plan in response to malaria.
This includes an emergency plan for arboviruses, strengthening of surveillance, the search for cases, and the boost of medical aid to patients.
