The impact of COVID-19 on the fight against malaria in Uganda

At the start of December 2020, a digital interview between Arnoud Aalbersberg (Care Plus®️) and Ashaba Faridah (Bambino Life Foundation) took place to discuss the effects of COVID-19 on malaria in Uganda. 

Uganda got ahead of COVID-19 before there were any cases. The president put the country under lockdown and closed the borders which resulted in a relatively low number of COVID-19 deaths in Uganda, but the strict lockdown measures affected the outreaches and malaria prevention as well. Moreover, the risk of malaria infection increased as people stayed more inside their houses during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

COVID-19 gets way more attention than malaria, whereas malaria makes more deathly victims than COVID-19. The number of potential deaths from malaria is almost back to the level of 15 years ago. Outreaches at which information about malaria prevention and printed mosquito nets are distributed are therefore of vital importance.