Despites large funding within the struggle towards the endemic, malaria remains to be a significant public well being problem in Nigeria, with an estimated 68 million instances and 194,000 deaths in 2021.
That is at the same time as stakeholders, at a medical outreach, in commemoration of 2024 World Malaria Day, orgainsed by Westfield Improvement Initiative in partnership with Diya Fatimilehin and Co and Itire-Ikate Native Council Improvement Space (LCDA), in Lagos, have disclosed the the explanation why Nigeria is but to win the warfare towards malaria, whereas profferiing the best way ahead.
The manager director, Westfield Improvement Initiative, Omolola Lana, informed LEADERSHIP that malaria accounts for practically 27 per cent of the worldwide malaria burden, with Nigeria accounting for 26.6 per cent of malaria instances and 31.3 per cent of malaria-related deaths globally in 2021.
The explanation for this isn’t far-fetched, Lana said, at the same time as she disclosed that the burden of malaria is a large downside and there’s no silver bullet to fixing it. To begin with, the manager director averred that poverty is a significant trigger, as many Nigerians stay in environmentally unsafe areas.
“Dwelling in locations the place there are water our bodies that aren’t clear, mosquitoes will certainly come there to hatch their eggs. We now have seen instances the place households retailer water in tanks not coated, which function a breeding floor for mosquitoes. Whereas it’s a recognized truth that everybody can not stay in a protected setting, there may be want to coach Nigerians on the necessity to maintain their setting clear and retailer water correctly,” she urged.
One other problem is the truth that majority of Nigerians don’t sleep below the Lengthy-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs), a mosquito nets which might be handled with an insecticide that lasts for as much as three years or 20 washes. “To deal with this problem, we needed to give you a mission, the place we monitored the those that got the online to make sure that they sleep below it. By the tip of six months, folks acquired used to sleeping below the online. The end result was that malaria instances drastically dropped in these communities. So, authorities should embark on large consciousness marketing campaign to coach Nigerians on the significance of sleeping below the online,” she said.
COVID-19 pandemic additionally derailed the struggle towards malaria, Lana said, including that, “There was a constant struggle towards malaria earlier than COVID-19, however instantly COVID surfaced, all assets have been directed to the struggle towards the virus. Now that we’ve got win the warfare towards COVID-19, i name on donors, philanthropists and the federal government to resume the struggle towards malaria.”
Talking on the medical outreach programme, Lana stated, “the mission of Westfield Improvement Initiative is round lowering malaria throughout Nigeria. At the moment is world Malaria day, so this mission is in commemoration of World Malaria day 2024. We’re bringing the thought to communities that folks nonetheless die of Malaria. It is likely one of the primary causes of loss of life amongst pregnant ladies and under-five youngsters in Nigeria. One of many price efficient manner of lowering malaria is to useful resource household with LLINs.
“As a part of our companies, we aren’t solely bringing medical assets to the folks, we’re additionally distributing about 500 LLINs to households in Itire-Ikate group, in order that they will safeguard themselves towards malaria. We aren’t solely hear to evangelise about malaria and methods of stopping it, we’re additionally resourcing folks with the instruments they should safeguard themselves towards malaria.”
The medical officer of Well being, Itire-Ikate LCDA, Dr. Olufemi Oyekan, stated over 500 residents will probably be screened and handled for blood sugar, hypertension and malaria. Oyekan disclosed that the LCDA is malaria excessive danger group as it’s the slum of surulere LGA, including that one of many price efficient methods to deal with malaria endemic is for folks to sleep below handled malaria web, to assist curb the excessive prevalence of malaria instances in the neighborhood.
In the meantime, residents of Itire-Ikate group nevertheless lauded this initiative, describing it as well timed. As an illustration, a resident, Mr Tunde Osun, informed LEADERSHIP that many of the group members can not afford malaria therapy, including that the malaria handled web, would go a good distance in stopping malaria incident in the neighborhood.