Combating malaria: Five ‘sprayers’ expelled over insecticide diversion in Nampula

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Combating malaria: Five ‘sprayers’ expelled over insecticide diversion in Nampula

3:19 CAT | 13 Nov 2020

File photo: Jornal Ikweli

At least five insecticide sprayers in the Nampula and Eráti districts in northern Mozambique have been accused of diverting insecticide resources and removed from the indoor mosquito spraying campaign in the region.

According to Geraldino Avalinho, head of the Public Health department in Nampula, the suspects allegedly sold insecticide to horticultural producers while spraying residences.

“We have five spray operators, one in the district of Eráti and four in Nampula, who diverted insecticides. Even after they were discovered, they kept on doing it and were eventually removed from the spraying programme to discourage others who are part of the group. Unfortunately, some [insecticide] was diverted to horticultural use or other activities which eliminate insects and other vectors,” Avalinho said.

“We must discourage citizens who force our sprayers to divert insecticide for indoor spraying. The product was purchased in proportion to the number of houses to be covered by the end of this process,” Avalinho explained.

Avalinho said that the people who forced the sprayers to divert the insecticide had not been identified, but called on community leaders to monitor the practice, so that the product purchased by the authorities was sufficient for the number of houses to be treated.

“When a sprayer goes out with a certain number of insecticide packages, we know how many houses he can cover. At the end of the job, he returns with a form that reports the number of houses that were covered, which must be equal to the number of packages used. In fact, the stock justifies its performance and use of insecticide when compared to what it will have taken.”

“It so happens that some have lost control, given that community leaders are responsible for signing the forms confirming that a certain number of houses have been sprayed. But some sprayers do not present their records to community leaders, a fact that has not escaped our attention.”

Health authorities in Nampula intend to spray 647,000 homes out of a total 2,955,402 in the present campaign, in eight districts (Eráti, Nampula, Ribáuè, Nacala-Porto, Angoche, Monapo, Malema and Meconta) selected on the grounds that they had presented the most cases of malaria in the last two years.

By Esmeraldo Boquisse

Source: Ikweli