NAIROBI, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Kenya plans to progressively increase domestic funding for combating malaria in order to eradicate malaria by 2030, an official said on Monday.
Erjesa Waqo, Head of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) at the Ministry of Health, told a media briefing in Nairobi that currently government financing constitutes only about 25 per of all malaria eradication efforts with the rest being funded by bilateral and multilateral donors.
"In order to ensure Kenya meets the World Health Organization target on reducing malaria deaths and infections by 2030 by 90 percent as compared to 2015 figures, the country will devote more locally sourced funds on fighting the disease," Waqo said during a malaria forum hosted by Novartis Social Business.
Waqo said total malaria funding in Kenya averages 270 million U.S. dollars for a three-year period and with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria being a significant donor.
He said that reliance on foreign donors to fight malaria could reverse the gains already achieved.
"We are already experiencing donor fatigue from our traditional donors, hence the need to increase amount of funding from domestic sources in order to ensure sustainability," he added.
The Head of the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) said that key tools being deployed to reduce the malaria burden include indoor residual spraying as well as use of treated mosquito nets.
He noted that due to targeted interventions, the national malaria prevalence rate has reduced to 8 percent down from 11 percent five years ago.
However, Waqo said that the Lake Victoria region in Western Kenya is most affected by malaria with prevalence rates currently at 27 percent.