As the world commemorates the World Malaria Day 2024, a medical doctor at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Bauchi (ATBUTH), Dr Sani Giade, has cautioned malaria patients against self-medication.
Malaria has been described as one of the most killer diseases in Nigeria. For instance, in 2021, about 200,000 were reported to have died from the disease in Nigeria, representing about 31 percent of global deaths.
Nigerians oftentimes resort to self-medication due to poverty and poor health services, particularly in rural communities.
In an exclusive interview with LEADERSHIP Weekend, Dr Giade said it was imperative for anyone who develops fever to rush to a verified health facility where they would be tested before taking any drug prescribed by a medical expert.
He also stressed the need for people to be knowledgeable on transmission and treatment of malaria to effectively curtail spread of the disease.
Giade emphasised the need for people to keep their environments clean and sleep inside treated mosquito nets as a sure way of fighting malaria.
The Bauchi State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDs Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Malaria (BACATMA) in collaboration with Integrated Health Programme (IHP) has trained about 19 laboratory scientists in order to ensure that malaria test results are accurate.
The agency distributed about 4.4 million treated mosquito nets last year, expressing optimism that beneficiaries were using them to fight malaria.