Interview: Uganda views China as key partner in malaria elimination, says health official

KAMPALA, April 25 (Xinhua) -- As the world marked World Malaria Day on Friday, a Ugandan health official said China is a key partner in helping the East African country eliminate the deadly disease by 2030.

Jimmy Opigo, head of the National Malaria Control Division at the Ministry of Health, told Xinhua in a recent interview that Uganda is eager to learn from a country whose relentless efforts have reduced annual malaria infections from about 30 million in the 1940s to zero in 2017.

In 2021, the World Health Organization officially declared China malaria-free, making it the 40th country in the world to have eliminated malaria.

Opigo said that over the years, China has supported Uganda in fighting the disease, which kills between 70,000 and 100,000 people in the East African country annually, with pregnant women and children most affected.

The 2024 World Malaria Report indicates that Uganda remains a high-burden malaria country, with 12.6 million cases in 2023, ranking it among the most affected countries globally.

Chinese innovative medicines, artemisinin-based combination therapy and injectable artesunate have played a critical role in fighting malaria, Opigo said. "This is one of their most important contributions in the fight against malaria in Uganda and the world. Coartem (an antimalarial drug) is a Chinese innovation."

In February last year, China donated about 500,000 packs and doses of anti-malaria medicines worth 1.1 million U.S. dollars to Uganda. According to the Chinese embassy here, this donation was a rapid response to the urgent request by the Ugandan government to address the rising number of malaria patients.

The embassy said the cooperation in the health sector is one of the most important areas in the bilateral relationship, noting that besides the donation of medicines, China has been sending medical teams to share experiences with the Ugandan counterparts and treat local people since 1983.

Opigo hailed China's "1-3-7" strategy to eliminate malaria. "They eliminated malaria and came up with the concept called '1-3-7', meaning if you identify any malaria cases, report it within one day, have it fully investigated and all contacts traced within three days, and then have all of them treated and the area where the disease emerged controlled within seven days," he said.

The health official said Uganda has modified the Chinese strategy into a community-based model to manage cases and reduce malaria transmission. Once a case is identified in a community, it is treated, and the community people are screened for the disease. Opigo said that, drawing from China's experience, this quick case detection, investigation and surveillance system is critical in fighting the disease.

The official said China is currently running a pilot anti-malaria project in Uganda, where it has set up malaria elimination demonstration zones in Kamwege, Luwero, Nakaseke, Buliisa and Rukiga districts. In these zones, malaria elimination medicines are being administered.

Opigo said Chinese company Yorkool, the leading manufacturer of long-lasting insecticidal-treated mosquito nets, will supply Uganda with more than 15 million nets through the Global Fund next year. He added that treated mosquito nets have been one of Uganda's key strategies in fighting malaria.

"We appreciate the long-standing bilateral relationship between Uganda and China, which has been in several fields, including trade, technology, manufacturing, agriculture, and medicine, and we are now developing one in malaria elimination," the official said. "Uganda is working with China for the elimination of malaria." ■