Malaria cases in Uganda have increased by 42 percent over the past year according to data from the country’s Ministry of Health.
While presenting key health sector achievements in the financial year 2019/20, Health Minister, Dr. Joyce Moriku Kaducu, said heavy rains in Uganda during the past year helped contribute to the spike in malaria cases.
“Malaria was still leading condition among all outpatient department diagnosis for all ages accounting for 29.8 percent of all outpatient department attendances followed by pneumonia(cough or cold) 18.1 percent, urinary tract infections and intestinal worms at 4.7 percent,” Dr. Kaducu said.
As part of interventions to curb the cases, Dr. Kaducu said the government is currently undertaking the third universal coverage campaign to distribute mosquito nets to all households across the country.
Uganda registers at least 16 malaria deaths per day with 25,000 cases.
Every year, more than 400,000 people die of malaria and 94 percent of these deaths occur in the African region, according to the World Health Organisation.
