Etisalat has boosted the fight against malaria, with the distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets to residents of Owutu, in Ikorodu, Lagos State, and Enuwa Square, Ile Ife in Osun State.
The exercise, in commemoration of the 2016 World Mosquito Day, forms part of a Pan-Nigeria crusade by the telecommunications giant against malaria in the country.
Speaking during the presentation at Ile Ife, the Manager, Corporate and Social Responsibility, Etisalat Nigeria, Oyetola Oduyemi, said the exercise was in keeping with the company’s passionate commitment to sustainable development.
“One of the key focal areas of our CSR intervention programme is health, and this initiative forms a part of it. We have a target to distribute tens of thousands of insecticide-treated nets across the nation in the fight against malaria. We have been to some communities in states, such as Kogi, Kaduna, Enugu and Rivers. We are taking it further to more communities in the Southwest,” she said.
While receiving the items on behalf of the Ile Ife community, the Palace Secretary, Mr. Idowu Salami, expressed delight at the exercise, praising the telecoms firm for taking up the fight against malaria, which claims millions of lives yearly in sub-Saharan Africa .
His words: “Malaria is on the increase due to poor sanitation practices; this provides a breeding ground for the activities of mosquitos, which lead to malaria. We are glad that Etisalat put this programme together. We are sure many of the people, who have benefited from this initiative, can protect themselves from mosquito bites and malaria attacks”.
At Ikorodu West Local Council Development Area, Lagos, the insecticide-treated mosquito nets were received by Samson Umar, who noted that Nigeria has one of the highest number of malaria casualties worldwide despite the many gains in the prevention and treatment of the scourge.