Government through the ministry of health has launched the new Malaria indicator survey that will cover the whole country in a bid to have a clear picture on the prevalence of the disease.

State Minister for Health in charge of General Duties, Hon. Sarah Opendi flagged off the teams on Tuesday at the Ministry of Health Headquarters in Kampala.

Minister Opendi urged the teams to collect quality data while carrying out their work with integrity.

The last Malaria indicator survey of 2015 found that malaria claimed about 80 thousands lives annually equivalent to 220 people daily enough to fill 15 community taxi vans that seats 14 passengers each.

The study indicates to that between 20 to 23% of those dying from Malaria are children under the age of 5 that’s about 40 children in this age group dying every day.

Malaria also counts for 25% to 40% of sick people going to health facilities and 20% admitted end up dying.

According to the Minister, Malaria testing in Public health facilities has improved from 60% to 90% in the last two years. Opendi  said government encourages people to sleep under treated mosquito net to prevent the malaria infection.

The Malaria indicator survey 2018-2019 will run under the theme, “Counting Milestones in the Malaria Struggle”.

Minister Opendi said that the survey will be conducted Over a period of about two weeks during the malaria transmission scale.

The date collected from the survey will influence new interventions and strategies towards Malaria elimination by 2030.