The ministry of health has rolled out a program to distribute Long Lasting Mosquito nets (LLINS) among refugees living in Uganda, in a bid to protect them against Malaria.
The announcement was made today, as Uganda joined the rest of the world to commemorate the World Refugee Day. Uganda is currently 1,400,000 refugees. Those in camps have been identified among malaria risk populations in the country.
The program is supported by Global Fund. According to Dr. Jimmy Opigo the Program Manager NMCP, malaria is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among refugees, accounting for 37% of outpatient consultations, 36% of inpatient admissions and 23% under 5 mortality and overall deaths.
“New malaria cases among child refugees stands at 80 per 1,000. This is also attributed to the proximity of refugee to thick vegetation and stagnant water, known for breeding sites of mosquitoes” Dr. Opigo said
In the upcoming exercise, government of Uganda through the health ministry will distribute 849,495 mosquito nets within the refugee settlements intending to protect 1,400,000 refugees living in Uganda.
The exercise will take place on Saturday June 23rd 2018, at all designated points within refugee settlements. This will cost government a sum of USD 534,940.
