Kenya has made strides in the control of malaria, and to achieve the targets set by the Abuja Declaration on Rolling back Malaria in the year 2000.
Head of Malaria Control Unit, Dr Willis Akhwale said 67 per cent of children under the age of five are now sleeping under insecticide treated nets as a preventive measure.
The threshold set by the Abuja declaration put it at 60 per cent.
Speaking in his office, Akhwale noted that maternal mortality through deaths from malaria is still high due to reluctance by pregnant mothers to seek treatment in good time. He warned against self medication among patients, saying it is complicating the fight against controlling malaria and urged the public to seek medical attention when they suspect they have malaria.
Akhwale said that people in the endemic areas of Nyanza and the Coast are now able to develop their own immunity adding that the highland areas which are new to the disease have higher incidence of malaria.
The Head of Malaria Control Unit urged the public to go for test before seeking medication in order to assist in controlling the disease.
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