By Bisola Adeyemo
The Tanzania government in collaboration with its medical research centres, National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) and some stakeholders have vowed to end malaria infection in the country by 2030.
The commitment was made during a one-day meeting in Tanga which also involved officials from the Ministry of Health, it was revealed that efforts to end malaria are progressing well.
Assistant Director for Social Welfare Service (PO-RALG), Rasheed Maftah, said the meeting was meant to discuss ‘Outcomes Evaluation on Intermittent Preventive Treatment of Malaria in School Children (IPTsc)’ hosted by National Institute for Medical Research (NIMRTanga).
Maftah who spoke through the Director for Health Department, Community Development and Nutrition (PO-RALG) said the government has succeeded in minimizing malaria infection by 50 per cent, from 14.5 in 2015 to 7.5 by 2017, while deaths from malaria have subsequently been reduced.
AllAfrica quoted him as saying “Together with these great successes, the national goals are to make sure the rate of malaria infection by 2025 stands below 3 per cent and to make sure we eradicate malaria infection by 2030,” he said.
He added: “In order to achieve such goals, we need to put more efficiency by using different scientific techniques according to biomedical research to improve and implement intermittent and preventive control programmes, aimed to control malaria infection”.
Meanwhile, the Acting Director of NIMR-Tanga, Dr Mercy Chiduo, said the centre in collaboration with Belgium based University, Antiwerp in the year 2019-2021 conducted biomedical research targeted to evaluate medical therapy of malaria to school children of between 5-15 years of age.
She said in the year 2020-2021, NIMR in collaboration with NMCP conducted research in Kilindi, Handeni Town Council and Handeni District Council covering 127 schools with a total of 90,000 pupils, which brought positive outcomes.
