Title: The IRS programme in Ethiopia
Course: Communicable Diseases Part 1 - Ethiopia (Full)

The IRS programme in Ethiopia

The insecticide called DDT has been used for IRS in Ethiopia since the mid-1960s. However, there is now widespread resistance of malaria vectors to DDT, so it will not be used in Ethiopia for IRS after 2010. Decisions about which insecticide to spray are made at the national level. When to spray is also often decided by malaria experts at the district or regional level, but you may also have a valuable input because you have better knowledge of the malaria transmission pattern in your village.

Areas less than 2,000 metres above sea level are generally considered malarious in Ethiopia, although there are marked variations between places and seasons. As a result, most of the areas below 2,000 metres are considered IRS targeted areas. The decision on whether your village will be sprayed or not is made at the district level. Depending on the local pattern of malaria cases, the availability of resources and the forecast of the risk of malaria, your village may be sprayed once a year, twice a year, during some years but not others, or not sprayed at all.

IRS has to be done during the rainy season and be completed just before the rain stops.