Health and Social Services Minister Dr. Esperance Luvindao has said that 95,729 cumulative malaria cases were recorded countrywide since the outbreak began in 2024.
The minister revealed this at the joint launch of the national malaria indoor residual spraying (IRS) campaign and the commemoration of World Malaria Day in the Sibbinda Constituency of the Zambezi Region on Friday.
She said that out of the 95,729 cases, Zambezi recorded the highest number with 25,065 cases in the Katima Mulilo District, followed by the Nkurenkuru District with 18,424, and then Andara and Outapi with 12,964 and 7,963 cases, respectively.
The minister said that because of these worrisome figures and the tragic malaria-related deaths, which surged from 50 in 2024 to 154 this year, the ministry chose to jointly launch the national indoor residual spraying campaign and commemorate World Malaria Day under the theme "Malaria Ends With Us: Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite".
“World Malaria Day is usually commemorated on April 25 every year as a day that calls for the global community to reflect, recommit, and, more importantly, to act in unison to eliminate malaria from our midst. We have opted to commemorate World Malaria Day today to coincide with our national launch of the 2025 Indoor Residual Spraying Campaign, as an expression of our resolve to mount an effective, preventative response to the potential future malaria seasonal outbreak,” Luvindao said, through a speech read on her behalf.
She said that although there had been a decline in malaria cases in the past three months, the country faced heightened outbreaks which warranted dedicated efforts to contain, mitigate and eliminate malaria in the 10 malaria-prone regions of Zambezi, Kavango East, Kavango West, Omaheke, Otjozondjupa, Ohangwena, Omusati, Oshana, Kunene and Oshikoto.
She emphasised that prevention is better than cure, noting that lives can be saved by adopting the IRS alongside other preventive measures. She urged Namibians to welcome spraying teams into their homes, sleep under mosquito nets, and complete malaria treatment.
Former Minister of Health and Social Services, and now SADC E8 Ambassador, Dr. Richard Kamwi, who graced the occasion, reiterated similar calls, urging all to ensure that no one dies from malaria, as it has become a notifiable disease that can be eliminated from Namibia and SADC as a whole.