Plateau Citizens to Receive 2.9 Insecticide-Treated Nets to Curb Malaria Prevalence

From Tongnaan Bawa, Jos

Citizens of Plateau State have been urged to seize the opportunity of  free distribution of over 2.9 million insecticide-treated nets to collect and use the nets appropriately to curb the scourge and also prevent falling sick of malaria and spending scarce resources on its treatment.

The Senior Program Officer, Media of Breakthrough Actions Nigeria, Eze Eze, made the appeal in Jos during a media parley with journalists where he called on the media practitioners to sensitize citizens on the need to collect and make use of the nets as intended so that the malaria prevalence rate of the State which stands at 19% could be reduced to the barest minimum.

He said Malaria has been identified as one of the most common causes of absenteeism from school, and work and its scourge resulting in lower productivity, and loss of revenue to individuals and governments.

He noted, “Malaria is a life-threatening disease, especially to children under five years old and pregnant women, spread to humans by some types of mosquitoes. It is mostly found in tropical countries. It is preventable and curable. The infection is caused by a parasite and does not spread from person to person; symptoms can be mild or severe. Mild symptoms are fever, chills, and headache. Severe symptoms include fatigue, confusion, seizures, and difficulty breathing.

“Malaria can be prevented by avoiding mosquito bites and with medicines. Treatments can stop mild cases from getting worse. Nigeria accounts for over 66 million malaria cases annually, and an estimated 30 per cent of child and 11 per cent of maternal deaths each year are due to malaria.

“Malaria remains the most common cause of absenteeism from schools, offices, farms, and markets, among others, resulting in lower productivity, and it exerts a huge social and economic burden on our communities and country. Billions of naira are lost to malaria annually in the form of treatment costs, prevention, and loss of man hours.

“Sleeping inside an Insecticide-Treated Net is one of the best ways to prevent malaria, as it forms a physical and chemical barrier against mosquitoes. It has been proven that the use of ITNs reduced malaria incidence by 50% in sub-Sahara Africa, in a region which accounts for more than 90 per cent of global cases.”

He disclosed that there has been a reduction in malaria prevalence in Nigeria, from 27% in 2015 to 22% in 2021. The prevalence rate in Plateau State stands at 19%, and “To reduce the burden of malaria in the State, the State government, through the State Ministry of Health in collaboration with the National Malaria Elimination Program (NMEP), the United States President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and Against Malaria Foundation (AMF) is distributing 2,998,600 Insecticide-Treated Nets (ITN) to households in Plateau State.

“The implementation is being carried out by Global Health Supply Chain-Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) and Breakthrough ACTION-Nigeria (BA-N). Before the distribution, every household must be registered.  Persons wearing uniforms with the malaria logo will visit the households, from 22nd to 28th March 2024, to register and give e-token slips that will entitle each household to free nets.

The distribution of the free nets will commence, from the 13th to 19th April 2024. A representative of each household is to go to the distribution point written on their e-token slips to collect the free nets.

“Once the collection is done, the new nets should be spread out to air under shade for 24 hours before hanging over a sleeping area. Every member of the family should sleep inside with the nets well tucked in over the sleeping area every night, all year round, to prevent malaria.”

Earlier, the Program Manager of Breakthrough ACTION-Nigeria, Linda Osagie, said, “Insecticide-Treated Nets (ITNs) distribution campaign is one of the major strategies to deliver nets to the entire population, to scale-up coverage and utilization of ITNs as a strategy for malaria control.

The media support in the campaign is crucial because the media offers great services and provides direct opportunity to save lives and help people to live better.”

She disclosed that Plateau State has nineteen percent (19%) malaria prevalence in the compared to other states within the northern region of the country.

The State Health Educator in the State Ministry of Health, Jerusha Kakwi assured that the State would continue to engage in actions that would ensure improved health of citizens and appealed to the beneficiaries to use the nets for its intended purpose and not to sale or use them something that the government would not be happy with.