Malaria deaths increase

Malaria in northern Namibia has assumed epidemic proportions and drugs to help combat the situation are to be airlifted to Namibia from Zimbabwe, the ‘Namibian’ reported on Tuesday. According to the report, so far this year the mosquito-borne disease has claimed 134 lives in the north. The director of health for the North West Health Directorate, Dr Naftali Hamata, told the ‘Namibian’ the number of fatalities could still rise as the malaria season has not reached its peak. The high number of malaria cases has already led to chronic overcrowding in hospital wards in the region. On Monday, the permanent secretary of health and social services, Dr Kalumbi Shangula, said the spraying of houses would be resumed and a committee established to “coordinate efforts to control the epidemic”. Shangula said that he had asked the WHO for assistance and had been promised a consignment of drugs, currently in the Zimbabwean capital, Harare. He added that his ministry had asked the Namibia Defence Force to airlift the medicines to Ondangwa. Figures for the period from January to 21 April this year show that the Oshakati hospital in the Oshana region treated 12,232 malaria cases. Last year some 190 people in the north died from malaria. Hamata said more health workers had been sent to rural district hospitals and clinics to deal with the burgeoning number of cases.