Taiwo Bankole
The Ogun State Government, in collaboration with the Global Fund Malaria Project, and Society For Family Health, among other development partners, is set to distribute 3.1 million free insecticide-treated nets to residents by November.
The exercise is targeted at combating the burden of malaria through the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets.
The Ogun State Health Educator, Dr Olubukola Omotosho, disclosed this at a media engagement held in Abeokuta on Monday.
Omotosho said the household registration and mobilisation runs from October 31 to November 6, while the net distribution starts on November 19.
“This exercise is part of the 2024 ITN Mass Campaign and during registration, the mobiliser will generate a token or net card which each household will use to collect the nets when the distribution begins.
“This exercise will be done across all the 20 local government areas in the state,” she said.
People with old or damaged nets were also told to come with them to exchange for new nets.
“This is to ensure that the old nets are not just dumped anywhere, thereby constituting environmental nuisance but are rather properly disposed of at a collection point for recycling,” she added.
The beneficiaries were urged to air the new nets under a shade for 24 hours before usage, to avoid discomfort.
Speaking at the media parley, the Project Director of Global Fund Malaria, SFH, Mr John Ocholi, decried the low level of insecticide-treated nets usage in Ogun, saying that the state currently recorded between 28 to 30 per cent usage.
Ocholi disclosed that the essence of the free distribution of the treated net was to combat the scourge of malaria and make the country achieve zero pandemics just like Egypt, Algeria and Cape Verde in Africa.
Explaining the efficacy of the ITN, Ocholi said: “For instance, since the use of insecticide-treated nets, the malaria prevalence from 45 per cent in 2010, which means that from every 10 people tested, five will be positive, came down to 27 per cent in 2015, meaning that for every 10 people tested for malaria parasite, three will be positive, but this has scaled down to between 21 or 22 per cent in 2021, 2022 with two people testing positive to malaria from every 10 people.”
He added that the use of ITN would help to reduce the financial burden and make more resources available for the household to take care of other basic needs like feeding, clothing, accommodation, and schooling, among others.
He said the net distribution would be targeted, adding that households or settlements where malaria is not prevalent according to the available data would not get the nets.
He said the distribution would focus more on rural areas and communities where the risk of the disease was higher.
The Media Communication Manager of SFH, Daniel Gbue, said malaria kills nine people every hour in the world, adding that for every five deaths caused by malaria, one is from Nigeria.
Gbue also said malaria was the common cause of absenteeism in schools and offices.
He said this was the reason people must join efforts with the government and other partnering organisations to embrace the use of insecticide-treated nets, while also embracing a clean and healthy environment to battle the scourge of malaria.
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