President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni together with a group of scientists has agreed to start with Bukedi Sub-region as a pilot area for a new mosquito radiation sterilization technology aimed at preventing malaria.
“Let us start with the Bukedi Sub-region to pilot this method since the area has got a lot of water, flat area, and stagnant water. This will help us solve the problem of mosquitoes and have fewer patients,” President Museveni explained.
“Sterilization of the male mosquitoes or tsetse flies is something we have been talking about for a long time. But now, you have come, good, I support it, go ahead and have like a pilot effort which will result into a study and conclusion,” Museveni added.
Museveni made these remarks in the meeting held with scientists and officials from Malera technologies limited at State House Entebbe on Wednesday.
Currently, Bukedi Sub-region is the leading region in malaria prevalence in the country as the sub-region is surrounded by swamps and rivers that act as breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
In his remarks, Mr. Israel Green, the Chief Executive Officer of Malera Technologies Limited informed the President that they aim to establish a high-level artificial intelligence technology known as radiation sterilization which sterilizes male mosquitoes to lessen the production of any offspring.
“We are planning on starting with four full factories including a research center dedicated to this method. We will deploy the factories in the areas that are at a higher burden of malaria prevalence under the guidance of the Ministry of Health in order to show the results in a short period of time.” He highlighted.
With the use of special artificial intelligence, Mr. Green further assured the President that they will be able to sort the males from the females easily and put the males aside for sterilization.
In her press briefing earlier this week, Jane Ruth Aceng the Minister of Health noted that the Malaria epidemic has gone down from 73 districts in October last year to now 12 districts that are currently above the threshold.
