March 27, 2024
Dr Godwin Ntadom, the National Coordinator, National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) of the Federal Ministry of Health, on Tuesday in Abuja disclosed that the programme planned to kick-start another malaria intervention treatment for school children in specified areas of the country.
Ntadom stated this in an interview on the sideline of the foremost media chat 2024; organised for Health Reporters.
He told Journalists that malaria was at its peak during the rainy season due to mosquitoes tendency to multiply and bite people.
He said the NMEP, among other interventions, also distributed nets while working to ensure that children and pregnant women, who formed bulk of the most vulnerable population to malaria, received adequate treatment.
Ntadom clarified that mosquito nets were not just been distributed only during their campaigns, but rather, it was routine exercise.
“When pregnant women deliver in the facility, they also get free nets in most parts of the country,” he said.
According to him, there are nascent strategies on ground which includes provision of anti-malarial medications.
He said recently , the NMEP started seasonal malaria chemo-preventive treatment especially in the northern parts of Nigeria where malaria was very prevalent.
The NMEP National Coordinator, who decried the crushing blow malaria dealt on Nigerians, however, expressed optimism that malaria could be reduced to approximately 10 per cent in the country by year 2025 .
“We’re working round the clock to reduce malaria to 10 per cent prevalence by 2025.
“Not only that, we have worked so hard to reduce malaria prevalence where it will no longer be a public health challenge,” he said.
Giving yearly statistical deductions from 2015 to 2021, he posited that the scourge of malaria reduced drastically in the country.
“In 2015 it was 27 %, 2021 it was 22 % and I can assure you that if we”d done for 2024 it wouid be less considering the efforts we put into reducing the burden. “
Ntadom noted that Cape Verde was able to eliminate the malaria threat recently, adding that Nigeria was on track to do likewise.
He further disclosed that malaria vaccine wouid soon be made available in Kebbi and Bayelsa as pilot states.
Speaking in an interview at the close of the event, Mr Raphael Onyilo, Head, Advocacy Communication and Social Mobilisation of the NMEP, restated the objectives of the workshop.
He said media played a critical role in elimination of malaria in Nigeria.
“Malaria is a public issue, everyone is vulnerable in Nigeria especially children under age five and pregnant women.
“That’s why we decided to call this meeting in order to educate the media, to fortify them with knowledge on what should be imparted to the populace on malaria prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
” The essence is to ensure that malaria is eliminated in our country Nigeria, ” Onyilo said.
Earlier, Mrs Lovelyn Agbor-Gabriel, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, Civil Society in Malaria Immunization and Nutrition(ACOMIN), urged the media in her goodwill message, to become a crucial stakeholder in the malaria elimination programme.
Highlight of the engagement were further goodwill messages delivered by Mr Onyekele David, Director and Head of Programme Management, NMEP as well as Dr Olusola Adeoye, Senior Technical Adviser, Breakthrough Action Nig.
Mrs Owoya Samuel, Desk Officer, NMEP of the FMH, made a presentation titled, “Improving Care-Seeking Behaviour for Malaria Control: The Media as an Ally.”
Key messages of the presentation outlined by Mrs Samuel was that any child with a fever should go to the health facility for testing and treatment without delay.
She underscored that pregnant women should register early for Antenatal Care(ANC) to take a drug Sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine(SP) at the ANC clinic to prevent malaria.
She also mentioned among others, that there was a reliable test which took little time called Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) test all fever cases early to confirm malaria.(MAINSTREAM)