Oluwatosin Fakayode, Director of Public Health in Kwara State on Tuesday revealed that about 2.3 million pieces of insecticide nets are to be distributed to all households in the state.
Fakayode made this known in his welcome address at Agenda for Media Orientation on ITN Campaign in Kwara State, organized by the state Ministry of Health.
According to him, malaria constitutes a huge nuisance in society and it is one of the leading causes of morbidity and maternal deaths.
He says malaria can be prevented by not allowing mosquitoes to bite people and one assured way and most cost-effective is to sleep inside a properly hung ITN every night.
The Director of Public Health revealed that over 3 billion was expended on the project saying “About 2.3 million pieces of treated nets would be distributed to all residents in Kwara to reduce the burden of a mosquito bite and to ensure malaria-free society.”
Fakayode, who appreciated the state Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq for his commitment towards improving health care service delivery in the state, commended Commissioner for Health (Raji Abdulrazaq) for doing the needful.
He, however, appealed to journalists to ensure proper sensitization and report effective and efficient information to the general public so that they will know the importance of using the net.
In his submission, Ekpor Emmanuel, NMEP Representative in Kwara ITNs campaign noted that the distribution will last 5days starting from Friday, adding that the mobilization team will distribute the nets.
He pointed out that each of the treated nets costs 2.48 dollars, urging the press to assist the campaign group in the fight against malaria in Kwara
Abdullahi Nageri, Malaria Programme Manager, disclosed that six thousand ad-hoc staff would be engaged for the program.
On the objective and expectation of the campaign, he says it is very important for the general public to know the essence of using nets and that is why journalists are involved to gain insight and relay the message to the people.
“We implore you to explain the importance of nets to prevent malaria. Implementation of the campaign for malaria-free Kwara is also paramount,” he said.
