The chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, Thursday flagged off the 2024 World Malaria Day intervention in Kabusa, a suburb in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony at the Kabusa Primary Health Centre (PHC), Maikalangu affirmed the council’s dedication to combating malaria and ensuring the well-being of residents.
He noted malaria’s deadly impact, particularly on children under five years and pregnant women, pointing out its symptoms and its prevalence during the rainy season.
He urged community leaders and residents to maintain a healthy environment by keeping their surroundings clean, clearing bushes, and sleeping under insecticide-treated nets.
He also stressed government’s commitment to supporting the programme and collaborating with relevant agencies to protect lives.
The supervisory councilor for Health, AMAC, Hon. Tunji Faoye, stated the council’s commitment to health interventions in the country, adding that AMAC conducts routine malaria treatment programmes monthly, visiting households to administer malaria medicine and distribute treated mosquito nets.
Faoye said the initiative is part of a broader effort that includes interventions for polio, disease outbreaks, immunisation, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS.
The officer in-charge, Kabusa PHC, Mrs Victoria Frederick, commended the AMAC chairman for the gesture, saying that the impact would be greatly felt among pregnant women and children.
Some of the beneficiaries, Chinasa Chibuzor and Esther Ayuba, commended the gesture but pleaded for its sustainability.
