KAMPALA – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has donated office equipment worth Shs185 million to the Parliamentary Forum on Malaria, with the global body revealing that the equipment is intended to help the Forum fight malaria in their constituents and in the country at large.
While handing over the equipment that included; chairs, tables, computers and other materials Dr. Doreen Mulenga UNICEF Country Representative noted that UNICEF has been takings step to help any organization which comes out to fight malaria just because malaria mostly disturbs children. “This is an important donation to the Parliamentary Forum on Malaria. We recognize the critical role they play in terms of making sure that some of these programs are accelerated within Uganda. It is a small gesture from our part to help them do their job on their issue of malaria response in Uganda.”
Dr. Mulenga also commended the Ministry of Health for intensifying the fight against malaria saying, “We had an upsurge of malaria this year, but thanks to the political leadership, as well as the Ministry of Health, this has been addressed, we are seeing a downward trend in terms of malaria cases.”
The development comes at the time the Ministry of Health informed Parliament that there had been a Malaria upsurge in Uganda, with this having kicked off in June 2019, with the trend blamed on rainy season that the country was experiencing.
Jane Aceng, Minister of Health told Parliament that the number of cases of malaria has increased by over 400,000 this year when compared with last year, from about 1Million cases in June 2018, to 1.4 million in June 2019.
Mary Paula (Lubabo County) who also doubles as Vice-Chairperson of the Parliamentary Forum on Malaria noted that the Forum will use the equipment to make different strategic plans which will end malaria in Uganda.
