FOLLOWING a 70% rise in deaths from malaria, the Namibian health ministry has asked parliament for an additional two million dollars to combat the disease. Petrina Usiku, the manager of the ministry’s malaria programme, said it would launch a three-month drive on Monday to spray DDT and other anti-malarial agents over almost half of the southern African country. She said the ministry would spray homes in the malaria-prone regions of Caprivi, Kavango, Otjozondjupa, Kunene, Oshikoto, Oshana, Omusati and Ohangwenause with DDT, a substance banned in many countries, and delta-methrin. Health Minister Libertina Amathila said that within the first six months of this year 608 deaths from malaria were reported, compared with 358 deaths during the same period last year, for an increase of 70%. Figures also showed a 32% increase in reported cases of malaria. – AFP