The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah, has called on development partners to push for malaria eradication and move away from control.
Oulanyah, who was meeting the United Kingdom (UK) All-Party Parliamentary Group on Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases said that malaria can be eliminated if there are concerted efforts from all the concerned parties.
“Can malaria be eradicated? Yes. Why then hasn’t it been eradicated? We have stakeholders and stockholders. Stakeholders want to eradicate malaria but stockholders are looking for profits,” he said.
The Deputy Speaker said the differing views on the actions against malaria are making the fight against the disease difficult.
“Conflicting interests have cost countries lots of money and lives. If you are here to eradicate malaria, I am with you but if you are here for malaria control, I am not with you,” Oulanyah warned.
He wondered why the indoor residual spraying was abandoned yet it was one way of eliminating malaria carrying mosquitoes. He urged governments and donors to re-consider the method, which is a sure way of eliminating the disease.
“If we can have this common focus and support programmes that will eliminate malaria, I will be grateful. Can we please strike a balance in the interest of humanity?” he asked.
Lord McColl revealed that the UK government has committed 45 million Pounds for malaria control for the next five years.
“We applaud the Government of Uganda for their efforts in fighting malaria. We shall spread the word to our colleagues back in the UK for the need to eradicate the disease,” he said.
According to the World Health Organisation, malaria remains the leading cause of death in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Ministry of Health statistics show that malaria is still the leading cause of death in Uganda accounting for over 27 per cent of deaths.
