World Malaria Day 2024 has the theme “Towards ending malaria in Vietnam” to widely communicate to people about malaria prevention, control and elimination.
From 1991 – 2000, Lao Cai province was in the active phase of malaria prevention and control. Many communes and districts are located in malaria-endemic areas. By 2000, Lao Cai had basically completed the National Target Program for malaria prevention and control. However, the program has not yet built a sustainable element, and there are still many potential epidemiological risks. Therefore, from 2001 – 2010, the number of malaria patients continued to increase.
By 2011, Lao Cai province implemented the National Strategy to prevent, control and eliminate malaria. After 10 years of implementation (2011 – 2020), the province’s malaria prevention and control work has achieved important achievements. Malaria has been repelled year by year, for many years there have been no domestic malaria parasites, and no communes in malaria-endemic areas. In 2020, Lao Cai completed eliminating malaria throughout the province in accordance with the roadmap prescribed by the Ministry of Health and was granted a certificate of disease elimination by the Central Institute of Malaria – Parasitology – Entomology. fever. By 2023, the rate of malaria parasites in the province will be less than 0.016/1,000 people, and no malaria epidemic will occur.
To achieve the above results, in recent years, the provincial health sector has continuously made efforts with the goal of continuing to strengthen sustainable factors and maintain malaria elimination results. Accordingly, vector prevention and control work for mobile people such as people sleeping in the forest, crossing borders, and migrants is always guaranteed. During the stages, investigation and surveillance activities to detect cases were maintained; Suspected cases of malaria are tested for diagnosis by rapid test or microscopy; Good coordination between treatment and prevention systems…
Doctor Le Ha Bac, Head of the Department of Parasitology and Insects (Provincial Center for Disease Control), said: Although the province has been recognized to meet the criteria for eliminating malaria, the provincial health sector still focuses on and Don’t be subjective about the epidemic. Strengthening surveillance and early detection of cases is the main goal of Lao Cai province in the coming period.
That initiative is completely well-founded, because Lao Cai has many potential risks that could cause malaria to return at any time and spread in the community. According to analysis, Lao Cai is a mountainous province with weather, climate and environment favorable for the proliferation and development of mosquito species, especially mosquitoes that transmit malaria. Along with that, Lao Cai borders provinces where malaria is still endemic such as Lai Chau, Ha Giang (Vietnam), and Yunnan (China), so population mobility and cross-border exchanges between regions, especially those who work seasonally in malaria-endemic areas, are still difficult to control. In addition, some people, especially highland people, do not use mosquito nets when sleeping in the fields; Environmental sanitation and house hygiene are still not good, people are still subjective in disease prevention and control…
From the potential risk factors that cause malaria to return, the provincial health sector has developed a plan with specific goals and targets. Accordingly, the province strives to ensure there are no domestic malaria parasites; 100% of people suspected of having malaria will have their blood taken to test for malaria parasites; 100% of imported malaria cases are detected, reported, investigated, managed and treated promptly, in accordance with the instructions of the Ministry of Health; ensure people have access to early malaria diagnosis services and timely, effective and safe treatment; Improve coverage of appropriate malaria prevention and control measures for people at risk of malaria; improve the quality of the malaria epidemiological surveillance system and ensure the capacity to handle malaria epidemics; Improve people’s knowledge and behavior in activities to prevent malaria from entering…
Lao Cai is in the phase of preventing the risk of malaria returning. Therefore, the health sector has continued to maintain propaganda activities to raise people’s awareness; proactively prevent epidemics such as spraying mosquitoes, impregnating mosquito nets, clearing sewers, etc.
