REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BENGKULU -- Indonesia observed World Malaria Day in Seluma District, Bengkulu Province, on Monday in the presence of Health Minister Nila Moeloek.
The minister said one way of controlling the spread of malaria was to conserve the mangrove ecosystem, which was "home" to the anopheles mosquitoes that carry the malaria virus.
"If the habitats (mangrove ecosystems) of anopheles mosquito are destroyed, the mosquitoes carrying the malaria virus will move to residential areas," Minister Moeloek remarked here on Monday.
Therefore, the health minister emphasized the need to preserve the environment, including the mangrove ecosystems along the coastal areas, to control the spread of malaria.
She added that controlling malaria was highly correlated to environmental hygiene and maintaining a healthy body.
"Such a small anopheles mosquito can cause death, and therefore, we should maintain cleanliness and our health," she affirmed.
The minister also reminded the residents to use mosquito nets while sleeping as the anopheles mosquitoes bite at night.
Therefore, she said the distribution of mosquito nets among the people was one of the steps taken under the Health Ministry's program to control malaria.
Various activities ranging from mass blood testing and the distribution of anti-malarial drugs to the distribution and installation of mosquito nets among the residents were held as part of the main event of the World Malaria Day in Seluma District.
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