KAMPALA, July 16, 2026 — The Minister of Health, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, has dismissed reports that the recent deaths of several students were caused by a new strain of malaria, saying the fatalities were instead linked to an immunological gap among learners rather than any change in the malaria parasite.
Baryomunsi made the clarification while presenting a ministerial statement to Parliament on Wednesday during a plenary sitting chaired by Speaker Jacob Marksons Oboth.
His statement followed concerns raised by Kigulu South Member of Parliament [MP] Andrew Kaluya over suspected cases of severe malaria among students in urban boarding schools.
The minister said Uganda continues to conduct genomic surveillance of malaria parasites through the National Malaria Control Division in collaboration with research partners, and that no evidence has been found of a more virulent malaria strain.
“This surveillance has not detected any change in the virulence of the parasites currently circulating in the country. Plasmodium falciparum remains, as it has for decades, the dominant species in Uganda, accounting for approximately 97 per cent of infections,” Baryomunsi said.
He added that available genomic and clinical surveillance data do not support claims that a new malaria strain is responsible for the recent deaths.
The minister confirmed that four learners in the Kampala Metropolitan Area had died from severe malaria, including two students from Makerere College School, one from Mengo Senior Secondary School and one from Gayaza High School.
However, he clarified that other recent student deaths reported at Naalya, Ndejje, Katakwi and Kakiri secondary schools resulted from suicide, trauma and road accidents, and were unrelated to malaria.
Baryomunsi explained that the increased vulnerability among learners in urban areas is linked to reduced exposure to malaria due to declining transmission rates in Kampala and other urban centres.
He said children raised in low-transmission areas do not develop the same level of immunity as those living in high-transmission areas, making them more susceptible to severe malaria when they become infected.
To address the challenge, the Ministry of Health, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Sports, is implementing a range of measures, including issuing rapid diagnosis guidelines, training school administrators on emergency referrals, and strengthening school health services.
Government also plans to conduct rapid malaria risk assessments, carry out confidential inquiries into the deaths in the affected schools, issue a ministerial circular on malaria prevention and treatment, and progressively deploy school nurses.
Baryomunsi said the Government remained committed to ensuring that no learner dies or suffers prolonged disruption to their education because of delayed malaria prevention, diagnosis or treatment.
Responding to the ministerial statement, Kaluya welcomed the Government’s intervention, saying the measures had reassured parents and leaders.
“It gives us a lot of comfort, both as parents and leaders, and eases our concerns about what is happening. However, we must improve our efforts to combat malaria,” he said.
Tororo South MP Frederick Angura urged the ministry to address gaps in healthcare delivery by ensuring that sub-counties without Health Centre IIIs are provided with the necessary health facilities.
Wakiso District Woman Representative Ethel Naluyima called for mental health programmes to be strengthened in schools.
“Honourable Ministers of Health and Education, you will need to formulate a comprehensive plan,” Speaker Oboth said in response.
UPDF Representative Gen. Samuel Kavuma also raised concerns over the low number of Ugandans seeking routine medical check-ups and the challenges many face in obtaining accurate diagnoses.
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