The government of Uganda through the Ministry of health has signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Egypt on Larval source management (LSM) in a bid to control malaria in the country
The (MOU) was signed by the Minister for Health Jane Ruth Aceng on Behalf of the Ugandan Government and Deputy chief of mission at Egyptian Embassy Haitham Mokhtar on Behalf of the Egyptian government at the Ministry of Health Headquarters in Wandegeya
The Larval source Management (LSM) Program under the MoU is expected to run for (3) three years and will start with Northern and Western regions in 2019/2020 where over 15 million Ugandans will be protected later cover the remaining part of the country
The MoU is set to cover major areas of cooperation like setting up local production units to produce Larvicides that will be used in larval management and other public health products which will help the government increase the capacity to cover more districts and reduce budget burdens incurred in importing the products and also provide sponsorships and grant opportunities for young scientists and also promote industrial capacity building and technology transfer activities.
According to Aceng, malaria is the leading and most wide spread and serious communicable disease in Uganda
“Malaria is a major public health problem as 95% of the country is endemic and 5% of the country is Prone to Malaria Epidemics and these are mainly Highland areas of South-Western Uganda and Elgon Mountain ranges”. Said Aceng
Aceng said the Larval Source Management (LSM) is one of the strategies of controlling Malaria and it is expected to protect and reduce malaria burden among the Vulnerable Groups especially pregnant women, and children
Aceng added that the MoU comes at a time where president Museveni signed Mutual agreements with the Egyptian President HE Abdul Fattah Sisi. president Museveni directed the revival of the Larval Source Management (LSM) in controlling malaria where Larvicides are used to control the spread of mosquitoes by destroying larvae in mosquito prone Areas.
Ambassador Haitham Mokhtar said the Egyptian Government has continued to achieve great results in Uganda since 2009 when the two countries embarked on fighting Malaria with assistance from Inrad company an Egyptian Based company
“The signing of Today’s MoU is another milestone achieved in the fight against Malaria in Uganda and in strengthening cooperation between the two countries” said Amb. Mokhtar
Dr. Jimmy Opigo the malaria control Programme Manager at the Ministry of health said there is a batch of Larvicides that is set to arrive in a two months period and these will cater the Kigezi Region first
