Healthcare providers in Akwa Ibom have been advised to adhere strictly to the national guidelines on malaria diagnosis and treatment to curb malaria-related deaths
Augustine Vincent Umoh, the commissioner for health, stated this while addressing participants at the Provide Behaviour Change workshop in Uyo, the state capital.
At the event which was organised by the Breakthrough Action Nigeria (BAN), in collaboration with the health ministry, the commissioner harped on compliance with the guidelines as the panacea for curbing malaria-related mortalities.
He lamented that despite all the resources invested in malaria control programmes, it has remained a troubling topical issue.
He noted that there were gaps that inhibited the expected outcomes in the strive to have a malaria-free society, even as he stressed that healthy people make a productive people.
The commissioner further charged the participants to apply themselves to what they learned, and to step down the knowledge gained to others.
He commended the Breakthrough Action Nigeria for their visible contribution in implementing health promotion, social and behavioural change interventions in malaria elimination, tuberculosis, media and health systems strengthening in the state.
He reiterated the unrelenting commitment of the state government to nurture a healthy citizenry, and invited well-meaning individuals and organisations to partner with the government in this regards.
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On behalf of Breakthrough Action Nigeria, the programme officer of the Providers Behaviour Change, Faramade Alalade, disclosed that the state was recording a gradual increase in malaria cases adding that malaria could only be eliminated through compliance with the guidelines.
He urged members of the public to desist from taking malaria medications without testing, stressing that every fever was not malaria.
As a clampdown measure on non-compliance, Alalade called for sanctions on health care providers found to be operating outside the National guidelines for malaria diagnosis and treatment.
In 2020, the global malaria case incidence rate was 59 cases per 1000 people at risk against a target of 35 — putting it off track by 40 percent.
The global mortality rate was 15.3 deaths per 100 000 people at risk against a target of 8.9 — putting it off track by 44 percent, according to the World Health Organisation.
In 2019, there were 303 cases per 1,000 population at risk of malaria. “Nigeria accounts for about 31.9 per cent of the global malaria deaths; this is approximately 200,000 deaths in 2021, WHO has stated.
