Free malaria treatment.

29 Apr, 2006

Mozambicans now have access to free malaria treatment in all public hospitals and clinics in the country as part of efforts to check the spread of the mosquito-borne disease. Other measures include the distribution of free mosquito nets, house-to-house spraying campaigns, eliminating stagnant water where mosquitoes reproduce and raising general awareness about the disease, which is the largest cause of hospital admissions in Mozambique.

There were 5.9 million reported cases of malaria and 4,209 malaria deaths in the southern African country in 2005, according to the national health authorities, while over three million cases were reported in the first three months of this year alone. Overall, approximately 80 per cent of the one million malaria deaths worldwide each year are in Africa.