By Sandra Chebet
Health Ministry officials have advised residents of Arua City to invest in mosquito-repellent plants as a cost-effective strategy to reduce malaria prevalence and treatment expenses.
The call follows a report by William Ofuti, the Principal Maternal and Child Health Officer in Arua City, indicating that malaria prevalence in the city stands at 22 percent—more than double the national average of 9 percent.
Silver Kasozi, an official from the National Malaria Control Division at the Ministry of Health, shared his personal experience in combating malaria.
He explained that after learning more about malaria prevention, he began planting mosquito-repelling plants around his home to reduce the risk of his family contracting the disease.
Kasozi noted that mosquito-repelling plants are not a new concept and that anyone can learn about them, either through research or by consulting nursery bed operators.
According to Kasozi, mosquito repellents fall into two categories: self-igniting plants that naturally release repellent properties in the evening when mosquitoes are active and those that require activation to produce a mosquito-repelling fragrance.
He cited plants such as night rose, morning glory, and eucalyptus, which naturally release repellent scents in the evening and deactivate in the morning.
On the other hand, plants like lemongrass need to be squeezed and placed in a corner of a house, while rosemary and lemon must be burned—such as during vigils—to release their mosquito-repelling properties.
Kasozi encouraged residents to seek indigenous knowledge on how their ancestors managed mosquitoes before the invention of insecticide-treated nets.
Additional mosquito-repelling plants include citronella grass, marigold, lavender, lemon balm, basil, peppermint, beebalm, catnip, and pennyroyal, all of which emit fragrances that mosquitoes find unpleasant.
Rogers Mutaka, an official in charge of Social and Behavior Change Communication at the National Malaria Elimination Division, suggested that model Village Health Teams (VHTs) could play a role in multiplying and distributing mosquito-repelling plants to communities at no cost.
Meanwhile, Judith Bako, the Deputy Resident City Commissioner (RCC) of Arua City Central Division, expressed concern about men who drink late into the night while exposed to mosquito bites.
She warned that such behaviors put their families at greater risk of contracting malaria.
Bako also challenged the Arua City Council to allocate more funding to health initiatives, noting that reliance on donor funding is becoming unsustainable.
Given the high malaria burden in the area, William Ofuti urged the Ministry of Health to include Arua City among the beneficiaries of the Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) program to further reduce malaria transmission.
In November 2022, the Ministry of Health launched IRS in nine districts across the West Nile region as a malaria control measure.
However, Arua City, along with Nebbi, Zombo, and Pakwach districts, was excluded from the exercise.
Malaria remains one of Uganda’s leading causes of morbidity, accounting for 30 to 50 percent of outpatient visits and 15 to 20 percent of hospital admissions.
The disease claims an estimated 52 lives daily and costs the country at least UGX 420 billion annually.
