"I will make sure that all households under my jurisdiction, starting from my royal house, will be sprayed to fight against malaria."
These were the words of the traditional leader of Folovhodwe village, Musanda Vho-Nndwakhulu Nefolovhodwe. He was addressing a team from the Department of Health, school children, invited guests and community members during the malaria indoor residual spray launch at Folovhodwe village, outside Musina, last Tuesday.
During the event, the MEC for Health, Dr Phophi Ramathuba, said the government was doing everything possible to fight against malaria. She said malaria was preventable and everyone had a role to fight the disease.
Ramathuba urged community members to allow the spraying teams to work freely in their houses. "Government has made manpower and resources available to fight opportunistic diseases like malaria. We have also recorded improvements in our clinics and hospitals where these diseases can be treated successfully."
She encouraged people to live in a clean environment to prevent the breeding of mosquitos. "Mosquitos breed in large numbers where there is dirt and stagnant water. We can play our roles to make sure that our areas are clean at all times."
Musina Mayor Mihloti Muhlope said her municipality was concerned that cases of malaria had been reported in some areas within Musina Municipality in previous years. "We are happy that the government is making all strides to make sure that our area becomes a malaria-free zone."
Mr Colbert Masase is one of the Folovhodwe residents whose house was sprayed by the team from the Department of Health. "We hope this will minimize the cases of malaria in our area because mosquitos are found in large numbers here," said Masase.