Deaths from malaria fall by one-third in Mozambique health facilities

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Deaths from malaria fall by one-third in Mozambique health facilities

1:18 CAT | 25 Apr 2018

File photo: Courtesy of UNICEF

The number of deaths in health units caused by malaria in Mozambique fell by 33 percent between 2016 and 2017, according to data from the Ministry of Health released on World Malaria Day 2018 on Tuesday.

The number of cases increased by 17 percent from around 8.5 million in 2016 to almost 10 million in 2017, but the number of patients in health facilities who died dropped from 1,685 to 1,114 in the same period, according to Ministry of Health figures published by Mozambican daily Noticias.

In his World Malaria Day 2018 message, President Nyusi said that “the event takes place in a worrying environment” as the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced a slowdown in the fight against malaria, “with increasing numbers even in countries on the brink of eliminating the disease”.

President Nyusi highlighted the Mozambican Immunisation Indicators Survey, which indicates a malaria prevalence of 40.2 percent in a population of 28.8 million, and noted that the disease continued to be “one of the main public health problems, representing 45 percent of outpatient consultations in the country’s health units.”

“Despite efforts to reduce them, these figures are still high,” he concluded.

Filipe Nyusi suggested that the prevention of malaria in Mozambique required a “behaviour change” in communities, and better communication.

Source: Lusa