ADDIS ABABA: 3.2 million cases have been reported over the last eight months in Ethiopia, the health ministry said. Warning against the fast spread of the disease across different areas of the African nation, the ministry said around 70,000 people are getting infected on weekly basis.
According to the ministry, the looming main rainy season will further aggravate the spread of the disease and called for an immediate awareness and prevention efforts to be implemented across Ethiopia.
Health Ministry
As a result of the current outbreak, the number of malaria-related deaths increased from 611 in January to 764 in February, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said in a statement.
While health partners are also mobilizing resources to support malaria prevention, treatment and awareness campaigns across the African country, the current malaria response is challenged by insufficient bed net utilization among people at risk, suboptimal environmental actions, and absence of insecticide spraying at mosquito breeding grounds, the UN said.
