It will cost the government Sh57 billion to implement its revised malaria strategy from this year to 2018.
Health ministry head of the malaria control programme Erjesa Waqo yesterday said they have Sh27 billion in the account.
He said the money will buy long-lasting insecticidal nets and medicines.
The money will cater for programmes such publicity, advocacy and gauge how prepared the country is to handle an epidemic, should it occur.
“The deficit is close to Sh30 billion. We will raise this with the help of our global partners, the government and other development partners,” he said.
In the three-year strategy, the country has been zoned into four regions to help both the national and county governments avert malaria deaths, especially among children aged below five and pregnant women.
“This is not a new plan but a review of the plan we launched in 2009. We know that we can’t clear malaria deaths by 100 per cent, but we want to reduce them by two-thirds by 2018,” Waqo said.
Health PS Khadija Kassachoon launched the revised Kenya National Malaria Strategy 2009 – 2018 yesterday.
She said infant mortality reduced from 52 per 1,000 deaths to 39 per 1,000.
She said and children under five had reduced from 74 per 1,000 to 52 per 1,000 deaths.
The number of patients seeking outpatients services for malaria treatment also reduced from 30 per cent to 14 per cent in the last four year.
“We should be very grateful because we have not had an epidemic for the last twelve years. The last epidemic was in 2003,” Kassachoon said.
The changes in the strategy include the adoption of universal access to testing and treatment and expansion of malaria epidemic preparedness.
