The Executive Secretary of Nyarugenge Sector, Fabrice Byiringiro called on the residents of Nyarugeng and Muhima as well as Rwandans in general to actively participate in the fight against malaria.
Byiringiro said that Rwandans should embrace the culture of protecting themselves from mosquito bites by heeding the advice of health personnel and messages that Rwanda Development Organisation (RDO) is rolling out to the citizenry.
“As a practice, get rid of bushes and ponds in the surroundings of your homes where mosquitoes breed from, close windows and doors early in the evening and above all sleep under mosquito nets,” Byiringiro remarked on May23, 2023 at the launch of anti-malaria campaign hosted at the football playground in Rugunga, City of Kigali.
The Executive Secretary of Nyarugenge Sector, Fabrice Byiringiro
He also reiterated the urgency of vacating shanty houses and places prune to landslides and floods caused by heavy rains to avoid loss of life.
The coordinator of the Anti-Malaria project at RDO, Benjamin Rutayisire revealed that Muhima and Nyarugenge sectors were also selected in Nyarugenge District as some of the areas with high prevalence of malaria.
Rutayisire illustrated to the population who had gathered during the anti-malaria campaign the mission of RDO and its history, also reiterating the role of the residents in fighting malaria.
Benjamin Rutayisire, the project coordinator of malaria project at RDO
“Malaria cases are higher in Muhima and Nyarugenge sectors with 587/1,000 cases and 424/1,000 cases respectively between January-March according to statistics from Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC). And, we are hopeful our campaign will bring down the numbers,” said Rutayisire in an interview with the press.
“Whenever you detect signs of malaria like fever, headache and vomiting immediately visit the nearest health centre,” He said.
The malaria campaign is running under the theme “zero malaria starts with me”.
Rutayisire said that RDO is basically advocating for behavioral change among the populations in order to fight malaria on a sustainable basis.
“Our campaign mainly focuses on behavioral change,” said Rutayisire who represented the Executive Secretary of RDO during the launch of the campaign.
The malaria campaign is organized by RDO in partnership with Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC). The campaign commenced on November 24, 2022 with Rutunga and Gikomero sectors of Gasabo that are most hit by malaria in Kigali.
Among the activities that marked the start of the malaria fight campaign included the intersectoral football competition, free and voluntary testing non-communicable diseases such as blood pressure and diabetes by medical teams.
The exciting football match at the official launch was between Nyarugenge and Muhima sectors, it ended 11:1 in favour of Nyarugenge.
Besides taking home the trophy Nyarugenge bagged Rwf350,000 while Muhima took home Rwf300,000.
As all activities were going on, well packaged messages by RDO on the fight against malaria were also being disseminated to the residents donning in blue T-shirts with captivating messages against the fight of malaria courtesy of RDO.
Over 400/1000 of the population in rural sectors of Rutunga and Gikomero in Gasabo District suffer from malaria compared to 7 per cent malaria prevalence at the national level.