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Tag: malaria

  • Ending malaria

    Ending malaria

    •WHO’s report should make Nigeria sit up to deal with the menace 

    Our report shines a spotlight on countries that are well on their way to eliminating malaria,” said Dr Pedro Alonso, director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) global malaria programme.

    It is a cause for concern that Nigeria got a poor rating in the latest WHO report on malaria.  The report, titled ‘Eliminating Malaria’, called for a global commitment to eliminate malaria in at least 35 new countries by 2030. WHO described the objective as “ambitious but achievable”.

    Alonso commended the countries that were winning the fight against malaria, and highlighted “the urgent need for greater investment in settings with high rates of malaria transmission, particularly in Africa.”

    From a Nigerian perspective, the organisation’s negative statistics are particularly disturbing because Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo account for 35 percent of malaria-related deaths globally. In 2015, 214 million cases of malaria were reported in 95 countries, and more than 400,000 people died of malaria.

    In Nigeria, about 100,000 people die from malaria every year, according to the head of the Malaria Consortium’s Nigeria Office, Dr Kolawole Maxwell, in a statement to mark World Malaria Day on April 25. Launched in 2008 by WHO Member States, the World Malaria Day signifies the scale of the malaria crisis and its importance as a global health issue. It serves as a regular reminder of the need for “continued investment and sustained political commitment for malaria prevention and control”.

    What it will take for Nigeria to make the desired progress in eliminating malaria? It is noteworthy that Alonso said: “New technologies must go hand in hand with strong political and financial commitment.” The international health agency strikingly observed that paying lip service to the anti-malaria effort was a major drawback.  A remarkable 60-percent decline in global mortality figures since the year 2000 has been credited to the use of insecticide-treated bed-nets, indoor residual spraying, and rapid diagnostic testing. The logical next level is elimination, which is why the theme for World Malaria Day 2016 is “End Malaria for Good”.

    There are positive examples that should galvanise the laggardly countries. In 2015, for the first time, Europe had no indigenous cases of malaria, which was a significant improvement from 90,000 cases in 1995. There were eight other countries that reportedly achieved similarly remarkable zero cases in 2014: Argentina, Costa Rica, Iraq, Morocco, Oman, Paraguay, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates.

    The reality that malaria can lead to death is a central reason it should be taken more seriously. The role and value of continuous public enlightenment cannot be overstressed. Although there is no vaccine for malaria, it has been demonstrated that the mosquito-borne infectious disease can be prevented through medications, mosquito elimination and the prevention of bites. Also, it has been established that elimination of malaria requires a sufficient lowering of “high human population density, high anopheles mosquito population density and high rates of transmission from humans to mosquitoes and from mosquitoes to humans”.  Furthermore, preventing the availability of open water in which mosquito larvae develop and adding substances to arrest their development have been found effective.

    Obviously, since prevention is better than cure, the health authorities should promote preventive approaches more purposefully, in addition to providing adequate facilities and personnel for diagnostic and curative purposes.

    The country’s unfavourable anti-malaria rating can be improved through greater focus by the health authorities. Having benefited from an eight-year UK aid-funded support to the national malaria programme, the country should build on the gains of the assistance by further developing its health care system.

    Maxwell was quoted as saying:  ”When we started, around 60 percent of people who came to the outpatients department of any hospital were complaining of fever… Malaria places a huge burden on the health systems.”

    In the final analysis, the WHO report should be a wake-up call for the Federal Government to demonstrate “strong political and financial commitment” necessary to achieve the elimination of malaria.

  • Firm unveils malaria toolkit

    Fyodor Biotechnologies Corp USA and Fyodor Biotechno-logies Nigeria Ltd, in collaboration with its marketing and distribution partner – Geneith Pharmaceuticals Ltd, headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, officially launched its Urine Malaria TestTM (UMT™) in Nigeria.

    Speaking at the unveiling of UMT product activation at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Dr. Eddy Agbo, CEO, Fyodor Biotechnologies said the UMT is the first ever non-blood malaria test that tells in 25 minutes or less if a fever is due to malaria or not, using only a few drops of urine.

    Echoing similar sentiments, Mrs. Victoria Enwemadu, Head, Global Projects, Fyodor Biotechnologies said rapid and timely diagnosis is critical for prompt effective management of fever suspected of being malaria as mandated by the World Health Organisation and Federal Ministry of Health, which she says is what makes UMT unique as it ensures prompt diagnosis.

    The UMT is a truly point-of-care test that empowers healthcare providers to be able follow national and international guidelines of “test before you treat” for malaria case management in all cases of fever, and suitable for use in both public and private healthcare settings, she added.

    The UMT is a simple dipstick test that uses immunochromatographic technology to detect malaria proteins shed in the urine of persons with fever due to malaria.

    Malaria remains the single most deadly global health disease.

    As of 2015, an estimated 3.2 billion people in 97 countries are at risk of being infected with malaria.

    About half a million people die of malaria every year. Fifteen countries account for 80% of malaria cases and 78% of deaths.

    The UMT was clinically validated in a pivotal clinical trial led by The ANDI/WHO Center of Excellence for Malaria Diagnosis, College of Medicine University of Lagos, in collaboration with highly esteemed centers of excellence and partners including The Johns Hopkins University USA; Duke University USA; the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health/National Malaria Elimination Program; Lagos State Government/Ministry of Health and the Nigeria National Agency for Food and Drug Administration, & Control (NAFDAC).

  • Environmental sanitation key to malaria prevention

    Environmental sanitation key to malaria prevention

    Key players in the health sector have urged Nigerians to clean their environment, especially by draining stagnant water to put malaria, a disease caused by anopheles mosquitoes, at bay.

    They said malaria thrives in dirty environment, thus cleaning the surroundings is non-negotiable to rid the country of the disease.

    The forum was the 1000-man walk in Lagos to commemorate the World Malaria Day. The theme was: End malaria for good.

    A consultant at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH),Dr Omolola Salako, said environment sanitation is a good strategy, which must be promoted to discourage  mosquitoes from breeding.

    Besides this, people should sleep under the long lasting insecticide nets (LLINs).

    “They should also test for malaria before they commence treatment. This is because there are several diseases, which present themselves as a fever. So, people must be sure its malaria before taking medications,” she said.

    Marketing Director, Greenlife Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Mr Olufemi Ayekun, said malaria kills over 500,000 people yearly across the world.

    According to him, one person dies every minute to the seemingly preventable disease.

    He also advocated a clean environment devoid of stagnant water and dirt.

    “We must clear our environment to stop mosquitoes from breeding. In Lagos, we must do something about canals that are opened. People should stop throwing their wastes, especially nylon and cans into the drainage that water should be flowing through. All these are breeding areas for mosquitoes,” he said.

    Quoting the World Health Organisation (WHO), Ayekun said people should have a malaria test, which is the gold standard,  before starting the treatment.

    “The Federal Government should declare a war against malaria because mosquitoes bite people in the car, at offices and in homes. The disease is everywhere in the country,” he said.

    Nollywood diva Foluke Daramola said many people see malaria as a common illness, adding that the danger it poses is unimaginable.

    “We are walking to make people aware of the danger associated with the disease. When the common man sees what we are doing to prevent malaria, they might be spurred to take the issue more seriously,” she said.

    Another Nollywood star Chioma Apotha said everybody should be involved in the fight against malaria.

    She said malaria affects everybody, and as such, it should be tackled headlong.

    An advocate for better healthcare, Eniola Salu, said many lives are lost to malaria daily.

    She said malaria has continued to thrive because of poor environment sanitation, adding that people need to change their attitude so that it can be totally eradicated.

  • Nigeria gets urine malaria test kit

    •To boost treatment outcome

    Nigerians can now test for malaria before treatment with its first ever Fyodor Urine malaria test (UMT) kit within 25 minutes.

    The inventor, Dr Edwin Agbo, said the innovation, a do-it-yourself (DIY), is a giant stride as malaria has killed half of the world population.

    Speaking at the introduction/ launch of the product in Lagos, he said not all fevers are due to malaria.

    Moreover, no fewer than 25 medical conditions are associated with fevers.

    He underscored the need for best practices and improved quality of care, such as  test, treat and track – follow up with a provider.

    “The test discovers parasite proteins present in the urine,” he said.

    UMT, he said, meets an urgent need for a non-invasive malaria diagnosis.

    “Fever is a sign of malaria but there are many other causes of fever. There is a need to accurately tell if a fever is due to malaria or not to target treatment,” he added.

    Agbo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Fyodor Biotechnologies, said the number of malaria cases is going down because of the availability of malaria testing.

    Traditional malaria testing procedures, Agbo said, are non-existent in private and community health settings, due partially to the risk of blood handling and challenges associated with the multi-step format.

    He warned that the urine for the test should not be stored in the refrigerator because it would crystalise it. “Any state of urine, however, can be used for testing,” he said.

    Principal Investigator and Director ANDI Centre of Excellence for Malaria Diagnosis, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Prof Wellington Oyibo said his team did its protocol so that UMT can sit anywhere in the world.

    Why? This is because diagnosis of malaria is an integral part of treatment.

    He said most of the study was carried out in Ikorodu and environs with about 1500 participants, who are between two years and above, involved.

    Vice President, Business Development and Projects Fyodor Dr Victoria Enwemadu said the product has the certification of local and international authorities.

    She said the product does not need blood, reagent, equipment and guesswork.

    To use the product, she said, people should dip the white end of the strip into urine sample and leave for 25 minutes.

    “If the result shows two lines, it is malaria but if is a line, it is not malaria,” she said. The shelf life, she said, was two years.

    Lagos State’s Commissioner for Health Dr Jide Idris said malaria pose a major challenge to the state and Nigeria as a whole.

    Moreover, it is the leading cause of death in Lagos State.

    Idris, represented by Dr Folayinka Daniel said: “Last year, 736,328 cases were reported.”Malaria, he said, remained a priority for the state.

    According to him, the disease impedes development and as such serves as a cause and consequence of under-development.

    He said the gold standard for malaria diagnosis is microscopy, adding that it is available in all public secondary and tertiary facilities in the state.

  • 25 percent of malaria deaths occur in Nigeria

    25 percent of malaria deaths occur in Nigeria

    Twenty-five per cent of the  627, 000 people, who die from malaria each year, are from Nigeria.

    This fact was released as Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark the World Malaria Day today.

    The  Marketing Director, RB West Africa, Mr. Oguzhan Silivrili,  spoke at a news conference to mark the day in Lagos.

    Silivrili said the victims of malaria were mostly children under the age of five.

    He said: ‘‘As I speak to you, millions of people are suffering from malaria all over Nigeria and every minute a child reportedly dies from malaria, it  is not a destiny for Nigerian children, malaria is preventable. We have proved this in Kosofe with a 55 per cent reduction in malaria cases in children in only six  months.

    “To replicate the success of the project, we would go from community to community, house to house and mom to mom with the help of grass-root NGOs, to distribute insecticide treated nets and Mortein, as well as educate them on how to protect themselves and their families against Malaria,” he said.

    The Public Health Vector Control Specialist and Head, Malaria Research Programme at the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Dr. Sam Awolola said a six-month project, which was conducted in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and RB Nigeria, makers of Mortein in Kosofe Local Government of Lagos State, noted a 55 per cent reduction in malaria in the area.

    He said adherence to three core integrated malaria prevention methods would reduce the incidence and death associated with the disease in sub-saharan Africa.

    The project, tagged: “Mortein Own a Community Project”, was to quantify the efficacy of adherence to the WHO three core integrated malaria prevention methods of reducing Malaria.

    According to Awolola, there was a 55 per cent reduction in tmalaria among children under the age of 10, in homes where interventions provided to them were used. The Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Lagos, Mr Ronald Kayanja, hailed Mortein’s work on malaria prevention in Nigeria. He also stated that initiatives, such as the Mortein Own a Community Project is supporting the United Nations to achievea part of goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals: ”To end the epidemic of Malaria by 2030″.

    The  Advocacy Sensitisation Mobilisation Officer, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Mrs Akintunde Ibironke, who represented the commissioner of Health, hailed Mortein for its work and support in the fight against malaria.

  • Take malaria off the list of women’s hurdles

    SIR: Malaria is all around us. Many of us know someone who has had malaria or have experienced the symptoms ourselves. I recently dealt with it at home when my daughter fell sick with malaria, and as a physician, I see countless patients and their children struggling with the disease. But despite malaria’s seemingly universal nature, one thing I have noticed over the years is that malaria has a disproportionate effect on women.

    Women are at highest risk during pregnancy, which can lead to severe complications for mothers and their babies. In Nigeria, the impact is devastating: malaria is responsible for 11 percent of all maternal deaths, in part because less than one in five pregnant women receive the recommended dose of lifesaving preventative treatment.

    Our social structures exacerbate the challenges women face in protecting themselves from malaria. Women often lack access to the same resources as men, making it harder to afford preventative measures or malaria treatment. Many women do not have the education they need to fully understand malaria’s risks. As a result, too many women are not in the position to seek appropriate care when they or their children get sick.

    All of these factors contribute to a vicious cycle that holds women back and allows malaria to persist. When women spend their income on malaria treatments, or miss work to care for themselves or a sick child, they have fewer resources to provide other necessities for their families – especially if they are the sole source of income. As women’s financial security falters, they have a harder time keeping their families healthy, making them more susceptible to infectious diseases like malaria.

    We can end malaria in Nigeria if we make women a priority.

    There are encouraging signs that we’re moving in the right direction. Several states offer free maternal and child health services and use antenatal clinics to distribute free insecticide-treated bed nets and preventative treatments. For women who can’t reach these clinics, many community-based organizations send volunteers door-to-door to help women get the services they need. Some malaria control programmes collect comprehensive data on malaria’s burden on pregnant women.

    This has to be the norm, not the exception.

    We need local, regional and national strategies designed specifically to address women’s risks. This means tailoring awareness campaigns to emphasize malaria’s impacts on women and offer information on preventative measures and treatment options. These campaigns must also reach men, who can help their wives, mothers and sisters access care. Collecting wide-ranging data on malaria’s burden on all women – not just pregnant women – will ensure that these strategies are well-informed and address the various factors that drive women’s health decisions.

    But it’s not enough to focus on the health-seeking behaviours of individuals. To address the root causes of malaria’s burden in our country, we also need to make sure that women don’t spiral into poverty when they or their children get sick. Our political leaders should prioritize making malaria interventions more affordable through financial programs that are geared toward women. Also, social safety nets, legal reforms and employment programs can help account for lost livelihood due to malaria illness.

    Ultimately, developing these women-centric programmes will require involving women in the design and implementation of malaria interventions in their communities. Women have insights into their specific barriers to care and are better prepared to create programmes that reflect the intricacies of their everyday realities. As more women are empowered to step into leadership positions, these perspectives will help create more nuanced programs that work for them.

    Putting women at the forefront of Nigeria’s malaria effort will go a long way toward placing national malaria elimination within our grasp. It will also yield impressive results for women’s standing in society. Reducing the burden of malaria would allow more women to complete school, remain in the workforce and participate in governance or decision-making – increasing their overall economic, social and political empowerment.

    I want to see a future where my daughters can thrive. That future is irrevocably tied to the ability of all women in Nigeria to reach their full potential. Let’s not allow malaria to jeopardize it.

     

    • Dr. Nana A. Sa’id,

    Kaduna.

  • CSOs to increase awareness on TB, malaria

    TWO Non-Governmental Organisations; Positive Action for Treatment Access (PATA) and Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), have rallied civil society organisations (CSOs) to increase understanding and engagement of communities and key stakeholders in Global Fund AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (ATM) projects in Nigeria.

    The 60 CSOs involved are in Lagos, Enugu and Abuja.

    At a two-day seminar in Lagos, PATA said: “Our conviction is that through partnership with in-country Global Fund structure (CCM), Nigerians can improve quality of their lives through access to GF projects across Nigeria.”

    Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Peter Ujomu, of the Health Matters Incorporated, encouraged CSOs to be committed to the task of making people know about tuberculosis and malaria treatment.

    Ujomu urged them to be skilful, passionate and creative, to encourage funding and state the problem on their proposals before grants can be given.

    Speaking on monitoring ATM projects in Nigeria, the Senior Programme Officer-Technical at Hygeia Foundation, Mr. Wilfred Ugwoeruchukwu, pleaded with CSOs to contribute its quota to health matters.

    “Nigeria has strong individuals but need strong institutions to check and balance system.”

    He advised HIV-positive mothers to always ensure they attend antenatal care to prevent their children from contracting it.

  • Police join fight against malaria, zika in Cross River

    The Nigeria Police Force has donated over 600 Insecticide Treated Nets and drugs worth millions of naira to the Police Secondary School, Akpabuyo Local Government Area of Cross River State to help protect the students and staff from mosquito bites and prevent the spread of malaria, zika and other diseases caused by mosquitoes.

    The nets and malaria drugs were presented to the School Management on behalf of the Police Authority in Akpabuyo by the Commissioner in Charge of Police Medical Services, CP Wilson Akwiwu in the presence of the Commandant, Police Secondary School, Superintendent of Police Peter Austin and the Officer in charge of the Police Medical Clinic in the School, Inspector Baba Enoch, as well as other management staff of the School.

    Commissioner Akwiwu said the donation was part of the Inspector General of Police’s commitment to support healthy living within Police formations across the country.

    He said the human body can only function properly in a healthy environment and urged the students to maintain good hygiene in order to be healthy to pursue their studies diligently and compete favourably with their counterparts in Lagos and Abuja.

    The Police Medical Services Commissioner pointed out that the Police Secondary School, Akpabuyo was specially selected as one of the beneficiaries of the program because it is the only Police school with a Medical Centre in the country.

    He emphasized that malaria is a killer disease that has affected many families in Nigeria and called on the beneficiaries to judiciously use the drugs and the insecticide treated nets to achieve desired results.

    He lauded the staff and students of the school for their high level of discipline and commitment to work, assuring that their problems, including inadequate accommodation, expansion of the school Medical Clinic to meet increasing health needs, would be taken to Abuja for possible positive response from the Inspector General of Police.

    Commandant of the Police Secondary School, Akpabuyo, Superintendent of Police Peter Austin, thanked the Commissioner for the gesture, assuring that the drugs and Insecticide Treated Mosquito Nets would be properly put to use by the students.

    Mr. Austin appealed to the Police high command to look into the challenges facing the school especially accommodation and expansion as well as improvement of facilities in the School Medical Clinic to meet increasing health needs of the people.

    The Officer in charge of the School Medical Clinic, Inspector Baba Enoch, also praised the efforts of the Commissioner in tackling their health needs, noting that the Clinic requires expansion and well equipped facilities in order to meet growing health challenges of the student.

    Enoch said the items donated would help a great deal in checkmating the spread of malaria, zika and other Mosquito causing Diseases in the school and its environs.

  • FG targets 2020 to eliminate malaria

    FG targets 2020 to eliminate malaria

    The Federal Government on Thursday renewed its resolve to eliminate malaria in the country by the year 2020.

    The National Coordinator, National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), Dr Nnenna Ezeigwe, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    Ezeigwe said all hands must be on deck to achieve a malaria free country by the targeted year through the Test, Treat and Track (TTT) policy.

    She advised healthcare service providers to sacrifice a little time to test patients and urged patients to get tested before receiving treatment for malaria.

    She explained that the malaria policy states that every suspected malaria case must be tested and confirmed before treatment can be administered on patients.

    According to her, the TTT policy has been in force for many years in the country with little or no compliance.

    “But we (FG) discovered that it has not been complied with. After looking carefully at the problem, we discovered that over 60 per cent of the Nigerian population go to the pharmacists and patent medicine dealers for treatment of malaria and other ailments.

    “This is why we decided to work in collaboration with the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) and we are working together with the Lagos State Government, Association of Patent Medicine Vendors to make sure that it is achieved.

    “We have discussed with PCN and we agreed that pharmacists and patent medicine vendors can test for malaria after been properly trained.

    “The programme is aimed at implementing the policy that has been on ground. The process might take time but it would be worth it at the end because it would be saving so many lives,’’ she said.

    She noted that there were no strict enforcement mechanism for defaulters nor would they be arrested or charged to court, but that there can be sanctions.

    “But if we discover that PPMV continues to treat without testing and there is evidence for it, then such persons will not be registered.

    “This is part of the agreement we have with the PCN that it should be part of their registration criteria, they will be properly trained and then implement it this is what we expect,‘’ she said.

    Ezeigwe said that since 2009 chloroquine has not been the drug of choice after several studies.

    “It was beneficial at some point but then at some point resistance sets in, the parasite we were fighting developed resistant to the drug (chloroquine) and then it became useless as a malaria drug.

    “So the current treatment that has been proven to be very effective is the Artemisinin Combination Therapy (ACT) and we are also monitoring the ACT to check if there is any resistant at any point.

    “But for now we are comfortable to say that ACT is still very efficacious in this country.

    “Although in some places like South East Asia they have noticed some resistance, but in Nigeria right now we do not have any such issues so ACT remains the drug of choice, chloroquine is not recommended.

    “Those that claim they get relieved after taking chloroquine are getting relieve from other things because every fever is not malaria there could be other causes.

    “It could be viral infection or ordinary fatigue, sometimes when you are stressed out you can have fever, chloroquine can cure any type of fever, it has what is called anti-piratic effect, meaning that it can reduce fever.

    “It also has anti-inflammatory effect meaning that if you have inflammation in any part of your body that would also make you sick. And chloroquine has the ability to bring the inflammation down.

    “But when it comes to killing plasmodium parasites which is the parasite that causes malaria it does not have any effect on it.

    “So if you have a viral infection that might burn out itself within a short period of time, like within 5-7 days without any treatment.

    “And you take chloroquine within that period and get better; you will now attribute your relief to chloroquine whereas it was not the drug that cured you,” she said.

    Ezeigwe said that chloroquine has been banned for the treatment of malaria and that it should not be bought or sold at the counter in any pharmacy or shop.

    She said that the disease that they claim that chloroquine was been used for has to be diagnosed by a qualified medical doctor.

    She also said that the Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) training that was been conducted for health workers was mostly negative and that makes her happy.

    “It shows the effectiveness of the RDTs because they are able to dictate positive and negative cases of malaria.

    “If the RDT reads negative then it is negative, because the RDT is 100 per cent effective.

    “It is only when it starts coming out positive, that you can begin to get worried and you can start doubting if the positivity was correct, so it is good news.’’

    However, the coordinator pointed out that some lab technicians in Nigeria lack the skills to see and dictate result correctly.

    “As soon as they see that fever was the case of a patient they just conclude that it is malaria without seeing anything through the micro-scope.

    “When you look under the micro-scope, you will see a lot of things like the white and red blood cells you will see the parasite plasmodium.

    “You will also see what we call artifact which can be like air bubble.

    “So when they don’t see anything and do not know what to attribute the sickness to, they just write malaria which is the easiest and most common thing for anyone to believe.’’

    She said that the RDT was accurate and urged people to have confidence in it because it was 100 per cent tested and confirmed.

    Ezeigwe noted that if the RDT reads positive the patient would be treated with the right drug, which is the ACT, and then get okay.

    She added that the test was necessary before treatment because if the drugs continue to be taken without malaria being positive in the body, it would start developing resistance.

    “And that will take us back to the case of chloroquine, and that is what we are trying to avoid.

    “And if the parasite becomes resistant to the drugs then we would not have drug to treat it with and it will be increasing.

    “And if it is increasing we would not make any progress towards elimination so it is going to aid it by making sure that the ACTs remain efficacious.

    “The Global fund is supporting the private sector mechanism and they have subsidised the cost of anti-malaria when you request for ACT with the green leaf, it is been sold at a very cheap rate for about N200 or N150 per pack.

    “So for those thinking that it would be expensive I am here to say that they are very cheap and affordable.

    “And am advising the pharmacists and PPMVs that any patient that walks into the pharmacy and refuse to get test before requesting for treatment should not be attended to.

    “The person can stay home with his/her fever because by the time they try as many shops as possible they will decide on what is best for them.

    “The pharmacists should know that this will bring them more customers because when your patients know that when they come to you, you will run the test on them before treatment they will tend to have more trust in your shop.

    “The goal standard in any healthcare is that you must test before you treat and malaria has been neglected for a while and has killed so many people ignorantly that is why we are doing this to save Nigerians.

    “We are covering 10 states in Nigeria in this particular exercise and Lagos is just one of them.

    “The country is very large and we have about 24 states to cover, we are been supported by the Global Fund and they are supporting the 24 states,’’ said the coordinator.

  • Experts urge Fed Govt to step up prevention program for malaria

    Experts urge Fed Govt to step up prevention program for malaria

    Health Experts at the weekend urged the Federal Government to step up prevention program for malaria.

     They lamented that low intake of proven scientific interventions by Nigerians was a factor limiting the control of malaria in the country.

     National Coordinator, National Malaria Elimination Program, Dr. Nnenna Ezeigwe, spoke at the end of program report dissemination on the Support to National Malaria Program (SuNMaP), in Abuja, on Friday.

     SuNMap is supported by the United Kingdom’s (UK) government through the Department for International Development (DFID.

     Dr. Ezeigwe said: “Low uptake of interventions is one of our problems that is militating fast progress in the fight against malaria.

     “Currently in some states we have embarked on interpersonal communication strategies in the grassroots where we get communication experts to interact with people within the communities to let them understand the need to take the interventions that have been proven to be working.

     “Individuals should embark on environmental management. Individuals should keep their environment clean and clear all bodies of water in the general environment. They should observe general hygiene and always sleep under the net every night.”

     Earlier, the Country Director of Malaria Consortium,  Dr. Kolawole Maxwell, said that the UK DFID had spent £89 million to support malaria eradication in Nigeria in the past eight years.

    The support to the national malaria program, he said, currently runs in 10 states of Lagos, Ogun, Enugu, Niger, Jigawa, Yobe, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Anambra.

     “The purpose of the program was to reach the general population especially the poorest and most vulnerable with evidence based interventions that would help control the disease and reduce the malaria burden.

     “By the end of the project through SuNMap alone, over four million nets were procured and distributed in public facilities and an estimated 2.2 million nets sold through the commercial sector.