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House-to-House Spraying to Kill Mosquitoes that Transmit Malaria Begins on Zanzibar

July 10, 2006

 

  • With Support from U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative

    • On July 9 at a ceremony in Central District, Zanzibar, the U.S. Ambassador to Tanzania, Mr. Michael Retzer, helped to launch a US$2 million indoor residual spraying (IRS) campaign that will kill mosquitoes that cause malaria and thereby improve the quality of life for families on Unguja and Pemba. The IRS is part of a multi-pronged approach for combating malaria on Zanzibar that is supported by the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and implemented through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) by the Zanzibar Malaria Control Program (ZMCP).

    The IRS Campaign will be conducted in two phases, with the first phase taking place before the short rains begin and concluding by September 2006 and the second phase to be scheduled in 2007. To prepare for this initiative the ZMCP and a multi-sectoral committee comprised of officials from, among others, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Environment, Ministry of Finance and Treasury, and Ministry of Education has been meeting for months to oversee logistical, communication, environmental, training and safety issues associated with the spraying campaign. At the district level, IRS committees have been established to support the IRS campaign. A safe insecticide used to kill the mosquitoes has been purchased, a warehouse to store equipment has been renovated and 450 men and women have been trained to spray inside houses on Zanzibar.

    Since December, when PMI activities began in Zanzibar, and with the support of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the ZMCP and the Global Fund, approximately 230,000 insecticide treated bed nets have been distributed for pregnant women and children under five. Rapid diagnostic test kits used to quickly and accurately detect malaria have been purchased and are being sent to Zanzibar and thousands of individuals have been informed about the importance of preventing malaria.

    U.S. Ambassador Michael Retzer, reflecting on this list of accomplishments, remarked, “This represents extraordinary progress.” He continued by predicting that Zanzibar will exceed expectations for reducing malaria, saying “We’ve designed an approach that virtually guarantees success, and we have the political means to achieve it.”

    PMI activities are also unfolding on the mainland, and include supporting the sale of low cost insecticide treated bed nets, training of health workers about treatment of malaria and the purchase of rapid diagnostic tests. In June 2005, President Bush challenged the world to reduce by half the number of women and children killed by malaria each year, and pledged $1.2 billion dollars over five years to do so. Tanzania was one of three countries initially selected to be part of this initiative.