Tanzania has distributed 236,420 liters of biological anti-mosquito pesticides across the country in what is one of the measures to fight malaria, authorities said on Thursday.
According to the Minister for Health Ummy Mwalimu while speaking to parliament, the anti-malaria pesticides were specifically being used to destroy mosquito larvae.
Mwalimu told the house that after taking various measures to fight the disease, including the distribution of the anti-malaria pesticides, the malaria prevalence rate has dropped to 7.3 percent in 2017 from 14.8 percent in 2016.
She added that the achievements were possible thanks to the strengthened national health systems, the level of investment in malaria control and a number of other strides taken by the government.
The minister even boasted of an award to her ministry from the World Health Organization (WHO), a certificate of recognition, following the measures that had been taken by the government to fight malaria.
She was wary though of how malaria has continued to be one of the major threats to public health, causing hundreds of deaths annually.
According to the National Malaria Control Program, 90 percent of the population in Tanzania lives in areas that carry a high risk of malaria transmission.
Mwalimu also presented a catalogue of priorities set by the ministry for the next fiscal year that begins in July to improve health services provision in the country.
The priorities included the strengthening of vaccination services to children where she explained that up to December last year, all of the targeted children had been vaccinated.
