Health ministry accused of failing to spray mosquitoes as malaria cases surge in northern Namibia

The Ministry of Health and Social Services has been accused of failing to properly implement malaria prevention measures, leading to an increase in the number of cases, including one death.

Former health minister and malaria elimination ambassador Richard Kamwi has warned that Namibia is likely to record more malaria cases and deaths this year than in 2025.

He said this in response to health minister Esperance Luvindao announcing on Monday that confirmed malaria cases rose sharply in the first four weeks of this year, with 8 760 infections reported – up from 5 229 during the same period of last year – a 68% increase.

The ministry said 604 patients had been admitted to hospitals, and one malaria-related death had been recorded.

Twenty health districts, including Katima Mulilo and Outapi, have surpassed the epidemic threshold.

Kamwi said the country’s current malaria outbreak is due to the poor execution of established control measures, particularly indoor residual spraying, despite clear World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines and regional commitments to eliminate the disease.

“You are likely to receive more cases and more deaths this year than last year,” he said.

Kamwi attributed the expected surge to rainfall patterns that favour mosquito breeding, combined with the ministry’s “failure to meet minimum spraying standards”.

“The current rainfall is not too heavy to flush out mosquito eggs.

The rainfall confines pockets of clean water, which are a niche for vector breeding,” he said.

Vector breeding refers to the reproduction of organisms like mosquitoes, ticks, and flies that transmit pathogens
Kamwi said the dominant malaria vectors in Namibia, particularly Anopheles arabiensis, thrive in such conditions.

“This type of rainfall is good for vector breeding,” he said.

However, Kamwi stressed that environmental factors alone do not explain the resurgence of malaria. He also placed blame on the health authorities’ poor implementation of control measures.

According to WHO standards, at least 85% of indoor resting places in malaria-endemic areas must be sprayed with approved insecticides to control transmission effectively.

“If you want to control the spread of malaria, if you want to eliminate it, you have to spray at least 85% of mosquitoes’ indoor resting places,” Kamwi said.

“This is not done.”
Kamwi said the entire southern African region’s malarial area, including Namibia, has failed to meet the 85% threshold.

‘NO CROSS-BORDER CONTROL’

He also criticised the lack of coordinated cross-border malaria control among southern African countries that have committed themselves to a joint elimination strategy, including Angola, Botswana, eSwatini, Namibia, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

“They started very well with a common strategy to eliminate the vectors,” Kamwi said. “But they have failed to follow it up.”

Kamwi accused governments in the region, including that of Namibia, of no longer treating malaria as a priority, despite the disease being preventable, curable and eradicable.

“And yet, it is killing people,” he said. “One death is too many.”

He said the continued loss of life to malaria is unacceptable, particularly because the disease disproportionately affects the most vulnerable.

“The people who are dying are the most vulnerable in our society: expecting mothers and children under five.”

2025 MALARIA CAMPAIGN

According to the health ministry’s budget motivation for the 2025/26 financial year, N$114.4 million was allocated to public health programmes, including malaria prevention and control.

The funds were earmarked to intensify indoor residual spraying campaigns, expand resistance management, and strengthen community engagement to reduce malaria transmission.

Luvindao on Monday said the ministry aimed to build on previous achievements, where indoor residual spraying reportedly reached around 85% of targeted structures, while improving surveillance and outbreak response through the Namibia Institute of Public Health.

SIGNIFICANT RAIN

Meteorologist Vilho Ndeunyema says while long-term rainfall predictions remain uncertain, the next 30 days are expected to bring significant rain to northern Namibia.

“We should expect a lot of rain to fall over the northern parts of Namibia.

Areas like Oshakati, Ongwediva, Zambezi and the northeast are the usual high-risk malaria zones. Central and southern parts remain low risk,” he says.

Ndeunyema says February is typically the peak of the rainy season in Namibia, with models showing heavy rainfall across the northern and north-western regions, and some rain in the south, though the latter is expected to remain relatively dry.

“Wherever there is rain, there’s going to be a lot of mosquitoes, especially when the temperatures go up,” he warns.

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