Vol. 5, Issue 5, Part B (2018)

Author(s): Eunice A Owino

Abstract: Malaria is the greatest killer parasitic diseases in the world today. Kenya falls amongst the 15 high-burden countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Due to this, the Kenyan government and its development partners launched the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) to reduce malaria related mortality by 50%. This was to be achieved through a rapid scale-up of four proven and highly effective malaria prevention and treatment measures: insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs); indoor residual spraying (IRS); accurate diagnosis and prompt treatment with artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs); and intermittent preventive treatment of pregnant women (IPTp). Though the contributions of PMI, together with those of other partners, have led to dramatic improvements in the coverage of malaria control interventions especially in the high burden regions of the county, malaria outbreaks are frequently reported in the arid and semi-arid land (ASAL) of Kenya like Baringo and West Pokot Counties. In this Opinion, I try to address some of the reasons that could be the cause of these frequent malaria outbreaks in the ASAL regions and what coud be done to reduce them.