Kotido registers decline in malaria prevalence rate

10 August 2026, 5:29 pm

By Hellen Aguyo Okello

The malaria vaccine and sleeping under long-lasting insecticidal nets have been shown to help reduce the severity of malaria, a disease responsible for fatalities among children aged between three months and five years and expectant mothers in Kotido District.

According to Dr Paul Lokut, a health educator at Kotido General Hospital, the reduction in malaria prevalence is attributed to a combination of core vector-control and preventive measures being implemented by the district.

Despite the reduction in malaria cases, Dr Lokut highlighted the need for concerted efforts to combat the disease.

He urged the community to intensify the implementation of preventive measures to curb a potential surge in malaria cases during the current rainy season.

Selected districts in the Karamoja Sub-region are currently implementing a three-month targeted administration of preventive antimalarial treatment to children aged three to 59 months during the peak rainy and malaria transmission seasons, providing them with additional protection against the disease.

The programme is being implemented by the Ministry of Health and Malaria Consortium in collaboration with the local governments of Kaabong, Kotido, Karenga and Abim districts. Under the programme, children aged three months to five years are given preventive doses of antimalarial medicine.

Meanwhile, Dickens Lokote, a clinical officer at Rengen Health Centre III in Kotido District, emphasised the importance of treatment adherence in malaria case management.

He said the second dose of malaria treatment is crucial and urged all patients to follow the prescribed treatment schedule, noting that taking the dose within the stipulated eight hours is important for effective treatment.

He noted that the Government has introduced new guidelines for malaria case management, along with new treatment medicines to strengthen efforts to combat the disease.