The Kavango West Health Director, Fransiska Hamutenya, has expressed concern over community members who are refusing to open their houses for the Indoor Residual Spraying teams.

Hamutenya addressed the community during the official handover of sanitation facilities at the Mupini Health Care Centre.

Indoor residual spraying involves spraying the interior walls of houses with insecticide to kill mosquitoes that transmit malaria.

Hamutenya said it is a serious concern that people are refusing the Indoor Residual Spraying programme teams in a region which has so far recorded 24 thousand 360 malaria cases and three deaths since January this year.

"We visited Siya and Halili village, and it brought pity amongst us. People are refusing to open their houses. If a room is opened, it's that which they don't use. Who are we fooling? This sickness is not only for us; it is for everyone. Malaria is dangerous."

Hamutenya reassured the public that the chemical used for indoor spraying has been tested, approved and certified safe for household use.
She further encouraged the community to work closely with officials from the ministry.

"Then we will come and say that we took the child to the hospital on time, but the nurses failed. We should first care; it must start with us. Let us see how we are protecting ourselves. It is sad because we will have to let you know what your child succumbed to, and these names are coming from our houses and our communities. It is sad to lose school kinds because the parents refused to have their houses sprayed."

The Ministry has also intensified community awareness programmes to educate residents on Malaria prevention methods.
The campaign, which will run until early December, aims to achieve 85%.