he Ministry of Health (MoH) has announced that it will administer the second round of antimalarial medicine in Turkana starting this June as part of its ongoing efforts to combat malaria in high-burden regions.
Health Principal Secretary (PS) Mary Muthoni stated that malaria remains a major public health concern in Kenya, with approximately 5.5 million cases reported in 2023. This translates to an incidence rate of 104 cases per 1,000 people, highlighting the urgent need for continued intervention.
The upcoming round of drug administration will be supported by a digital campaign approach using the Electronic Community Health Information System (eCHIS) platform. PS Muthoni emphasized that data collected from both the 2024 and 2025 malaria campaigns will be instrumental in shaping future expansion and implementation strategies to maximize the impact of malaria prevention efforts.
Malaria is particularly prevalent in six counties: Busia, Kakamega, Kisumu, Migori, Siaya, and Vihiga, which collectively report an adjusted malaria incidence of 748 cases per 1,000 people. Additional high-burden areas include Bungoma, Homa Bay, Kwale, Turkana, and West Pokot, where the incidence rate stands at 474 cases per 1,000 people.
To combat the disease, Kenya has intensified its interventions, including the distribution of insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), improved malaria case management, and targeted prevention strategies such as Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) and Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC).
PS Muthoni noted that in 2024, IRS was successfully carried out in Busia and Migori counties, with support from the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI). The campaign covered high-transmission areas, ensuring that 423,037 structures were sprayed out of 444,890 eligible structures. This resulted in a high success rate, with Busia achieving 95.1% coverage and Migori reaching 95.0%, surpassing the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommended threshold of 85%.
As a result of these interventions, malaria incidence in Busia County has significantly dropped by 50%, from 746 cases per 1,000 in 2023 to 358 per 1,000 in 2024.
The MoH reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening malaria control interventions and ensuring that all high-burden regions receive the necessary support to eliminate malaria as a public health threat.
