Alick Nzangaya
World Vision Malawi says it is impressed with the progress of the Indoor Residual Spray campaign which is underway in Malawi’s three districts.
The campaign which was launched last month, is being carried out in Mangochi, Balaka and Nkhatabay districts where chemicals that kills Malaria-causing mosquitoes are being sprayed.
In an interview with this publication, World Vision Malawi’s Communication and External Engagement Manager Charles Kabena said everything is going well claiming as of now, they have done 70 percent of the campaign.
Kabena said out of the 539,000 households which are to benefit from the campaign, over 300, 000 households has been sprayed with chemicals and says he is so sure that the remaining population will be reached by the end of the campaign in two weeks time.
“Across all the three districts, that’s Balaka, Mangochi and Nkhatabay, we are now half way through to the 36 days of spraying. I would say it’s so far so good and the progress in relation to the targets in all the three districts, is so great,” said Kabena.
Kabena continued to say the most exciting development is that the campaign has been welcomed by a larger population but he was quick to admit that some community members in the material districts are denying access to their houses.
He cited cultural beliefs as one of the major cause of the challenges they are facing as it is culturally believed that a visitor can not proceed to bedrooms, and thereby restricting youths who are carrying out the campaign from spraying in their bedrooms.
“We are glad that most people are understanding the danger of malaria and most of them have welcomed the exercise. However we are facing some challenges. Some people are denying us the opportunity to spray their homes on cultural and religious grounds while others are denying out of ignorance,” he added.
The Communication and External Engagement Manager then thanked traditional and religious leaders for working hand in hand with World Vision in preaching the advantages of having one’s house sprayed during this campaign.
Kabena has also quashed rumous that the chemicals being used have some side effects and he has since assured people in Mangochi, Balaka and Nkhatabay that the chemicals are certified by the Malawi Poisons Board as well as the ministry of health.
“The chemicals causes no harm to human beings, they only kill mosquitoes and since we started the project in Mangochi in 2019, there has never been any household that has reported any side effects,” said Kabena.
He concluded by saying that in the material districts, malaria cases has dropped a thing which he said is as a result of the ongoing Indoor Residual Spray campaign.
