As the raining season is fast approaching and in preparation of the world’s Malaria day, the National Coordinator National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) Dr. Godwin Ntadom, Tuesday, urged Nigerians to do away with environment that may breed mosquitoes and as well use insecticide treated nets.
The National Coordinator stated this at the NMEP 2020, second Bi-annual media chat, on Tuesday, in Abuja.
According to him, that there was a target of reducing malaria prevalence in the country to 10 percent by 2025, and as well, ensure that malaria is no longer a public health challenge.
“Most importantly, we need to focus on the veto that causes Malaria and that’s mosquito. Because mosquitoes breed in our neighborhood and the only way we can breach that gap, is by doing away with stagnant water, mushy areas, anywhere you think mosquito can breed, prevent it and if we are able to regulate this, it will go a long way. Another is that, we should be proactive in sleeping under an insecticide treated net . As long as you’re not bitten by mosquitoes, it’s likely that you will not get malaria.
“While working on the former strategy we have been using, we have deployed new strategies, we provide anti-malaria medicine, distribute treated mosquito nets and we have commenced seasonal malaria chemo-preventive treatment especially in the north, where malaria is prevalent and the mortality in the region has reduced as a result of the seasonal malaria intervention.
“The chemo-preventive treatment is carried out in areas where rainfall is seasonal, malaria cases usually increase during the rainy season and we target that period. In other parts of the country, we distribute nets and ensure that children who are the vulnerable population and pregnant women get adequate treatment we have other interventions for pregnant women like the intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women,” he added.
