KIBUKU – When ministry of health started In Door Residual Spraying of mosquitoes in Kibuku in 2014, Women asserted that the programme was making their husbands non-virile; a belief commonly held by many in Kibuku district.
“My man was performing well in bed but when the Ministry of Health started indoor residual spraying of our house, his sexual power reduced and gradually he became nonvirile,” said Ms Jane Katoko, a resident of Kachabali in Kibuku.
When this reporter did a mini-survey in parts of Kibuku district, several women asserted further that IRS was responsible for the high deaths among children and that IRS was responsible for the high anemia cases among children.
“Ever since the ministry introduced IRS in Kibuku, we have witnessed high deaths among children. We bury children almost daily due to anemia and malnutrition caused by IRS. We don’t want IRS, we need our children and husbands, take away your IRS,” said Mrs Mary Kataike from Kadama sub-county.
When Sarah Mbeiza,5, a child to Ms Kataike of Kadama village, Kadama town council started to lose weight, became anemic and sickly, many asserted that the child would never heal because he had inherited IRS chemicals.
This is a commonly held belief here whenever a child gets sick in the villages of Kibuku district.
To cement their beliefs, women influenced their husbands and lower councils to reject IRS and a council sitting in December 2022 passed a resolution opposing the government’s IRS programme saying it was not an effective strategy to fight high malaria cases in Kibuku district.
Elsewhere Kanyiri group, an local faith group, also reportedly shunned a way the government IRS programme saying their faith forbids them from western medicines and being counted and that IRS causes bedbugs in people’s homes.
Kibuku is a great district with rumours, stereotypes, myths creation, misconceptions and outright lies orchestrated by leaders. This perhaps explains why such an important government programme for fighting malaria ends up being rejected.
In fact one would be persuaded to believe that all disease outbreaks witnessed in Kibuku in the past have had to do with myth creation and lies perpetrated by some leaders in the society who are bent to fighting government programmes.
Mr Augustine Mujanga, the district secretary for Health and Education who doubles as a councilor representing Bulangira town council told this reporter that ever since IRS was introduced, cases of malaria have increased.
“People don’t want their homes sprayed now because they have not seen any change for the last eight years, children have continued to die and several negative impacts have been detected, we need something different and better to fight malaria here,” said Mr Mujanga.
He revealed that the household heads refused spraying of their houses, claiming the chemical being used causes cancer, may kill their domestic animals and may spoil their food.
“The community members were also scared of the future side effects which in the long run would affect them and their children,” said Mr Mujanga without mentioning the future impacts.
According to Dr Godfrey Buyinza all over Kibuku district, people have incorrect and harmful beliefs about IRS and that these beliefs are based on myths.
“And I want to state that when we tackle these myths we become malaria champions and move ourselves closer to a Uganda without Malaria,” said Dr Buyinza who is the DHO Kibuku district.
A meeting held at the district headquaters in Kibuku heard that people had rejected IRS because it had a lot of misfortunes associated with it. Local council leaders told the visiting team from ministry of health, World Health Organisation and USAID that IRS had brought untold suffering to the people of Kibuku.
Reports indicated that the community was fighting IRS because it had also increased the number of abortions among women in Kibuku and yet malaria was not reducing.
Dr Buyinza, while presenting a situational report [SITREP] highlighting malaria burden in the district said for every 10 people you will find in Kibuku, six of them are suffering from malaria.
He revealed that negative attitude towards IRS and misconceptions coupled with myths held about IRS were keeping malaria cases up in Kibuku district.
“Our people are held up in misconceptions and myths about IRS and yet it I the best government programme to fight malaria. We need to educate our people, sensitise them on ways of fighting malaria in order to end deaths due to malaria in this place,” said Dr Buyinza.
Dr Buyinza noted that there was a high burden of malaria in Kibuku adding that the OPD attendance stands at more than 60% while the positivity rate stands at more than 70% but that people are still held up in ignorance and witchcraft and can’t believe that malaria is the one killing their children.
Dr Jane Ruth Achen, the minister of health urged the councilors to educate their own people, let them come out of ignorance, they should come out of myths that do not have any meaning at all and teach them to support government programmes.
“Government can’t send medicine to kill its own people. Most of the reasons you are advancing are myths. For sure is there any connection between performances of men in bed with IRS? Let us rethink. A child becomes anemic after it has been attacked by malaria,” said Dr Achen.
She said the best way of passing out IRS information to the communities is by the local leaders addressing communities in public functions like burials. It would also be better to use institutional leaders like in schools, churches and cultural institutions.
Medical reports indicate that in 2006, the World Health Organization issued a position statement promoting the use of indoor residual spraying (IRS) with dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) for malaria vector control in epidemic and endemic areas.
Dr Achen feels that there is need for community mobilization and sensitization campaigns to ensure that communities appreciate the reason for conducting IRS, the efficacy and safety of the chemicals used in IRS.
Dr Jimmy Opigo, the assistant commissioner health services [National Malaria Prevention programme] named the districts with the highest cases of malaria in the east here as Kibuku, Serere and Omolatar.
While presenting a situational report [SITREP] 2023 highlighting malaria burden in the country, Dr Opigo told the meeting that due to climate change there is an increase in the people suffering from malaria and deaths due to malaria.
When asked to address the meeting, the LCV chairman Mr Muhammad Nakeba said they had myths and misconceptions about the programme previously but that upon education from the Ministry of Health, they are now going to mobilise the communities to accept IRS.
“And I want to declare that we shall not fight the government programme but will join the ministry of health and government partners to engage our people, sensitise them to accept IRS to end malaria, we shall also be involved in other government programmes to benefit our people,” said Mr Nakeba sending the meeting into jubilations.
He said further that malaria control through the use of IRS in the rural community can be conducted with full participation of the local community members.
Dr Opigo said IRS usually kills mosquitoes after they have fed if they come to rest on the sprayed surface and that. IRS also prevents transmission of infection to other persons.
The Ministry of Health introduced Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) in Kibuku district in 2014 in a bid to intensify efforts towards the management of the Malaria epidemic.
According to the ministry of health, the exercise was intended to contribute to the objective of achieving and sustaining protection of at least 85% of the population at risk of malaria through recommended Malaria prevention measures by 2017.
Dr Achen, the Minister of health explained that the IRS strategy is being used in addition to other malaria prevention strategies such as the use of long lasting Insecticide Treated bed nets, case management, Intermittent Preventive Treatment in Pregnancy (IPTp), Surveillance, Monitoring and Evaluation, Research, Epidemic Preparedness/Response and Behaviour Change Communication.
She appealed to the general public, especially those in the affected areas to observe the following;
- Sleep under an insecticide-treated bed net for protecting against mosquito bites
- Destroy all breeding places for malaria vectors by slashing compound and removing all dirty waters among others
- Those already diagnosed with Malaria are requested to complete the dose of anti-Malarials given to them
- Work closely with the Village Health Teams to monitor and report cases to health facilities
