Zimbabwe is set to complete the malaria indicator survey this month to assess if the country’s goal to eradicate the disease was on course, a government official has said.
A senior official in the Ministry of Health and Child Welfare, Stanford Mashaire, told journalists during a Global Fund-organised media tour the survey report would be released this month-end. Mashaire said the ministry had visited 327 enumerating centres across the country. “We are looking at the data and the report should be out by the end of June,” he said.
“We used at least $800 000 for the survey although that was not adequate,” Mashaire said, adding they had submitted a budget of $1,5 million to cover all malaria-infested areas.
The survey aims to assess household usage of mosquito nets and the availability of drugs at health centres in the country. Mashaire said Zimbabwe had recorded 144 680 malaria cases between January and April this year.
Last year, 291 659 cases were recorded with 53% and 47% being females and males respectively. The country reported 109 malarial deaths in 2011, while it eliminated the disease in Matabeleland South, Masvingo and Midlands.
