In a bid to eliminate malaria in the state, the Kwara state government in collaboration with the National Malaria Elimination Program has commenced the process of the 2023 Integrated Insecticide Treated Nets and Seasonal Malaria Chemotherapy mass campaign.
Speaking with newsmen during an orientation, the Director of Public Health, Kwara State Ministry of Health, Dr. Oluwatosin Fakayode, said that the campaign will provide over two million insecticide-treated nets to households and preventive malaria drugs (SPAG) to children between 3 to 59 months.
“We all know the burden of malaria is here with us. It’s our number one public health problem. We are going house-to-house to give children 3 months- 59 months malaria preventive medicines to make sure that during the peak or rainy seasons, they don’t come down with malaria.
“(We are) making sure, again, that they are sleeping under the insecticide-treated nets. Where we want to get to is to have zero mortality related cases of malaria, meaning we don’t want any child o die because He has malaria.”
Meanwhile, Bala Muhammed, the representative of the Federal Ministry of Health under the National Malaria Elimination Program disclosed that the team will implement four strategies in the distribution of the Insecticide Treated Nets and preventive malaria drugs across the state.
“We have commenced the process of 2023 Integrated SMC ITN mass campaign in Kwara State. This year’s implementation is going to take slightly different approach from the previous years. This time around, we want to implement almost four different strategies in Kwara.
“Basically, strategy one is going to be done in line with the national guideline that recommends integration of ITN and SMC. That means we will be distributing mosquito nets and administration of SPAC which is the drug for the prevention of malaria for children 3 to 59 months all at the same time and this is going to happen in 11 LGAs.”
“The second strategy, our team members will go to house by house and register people for nets collection but they will not give them nets immediately but they will give eligible children 3 to 59 months SPAC immediately while giving them a net card. Then, after the registration of the household, you will now go to a fixed point distribution. This strategy will happen in one LGA–Moro LGA.
“Then, the third strategy, this strategy is looking at the LGAs in kwara state that are not eligible for SMC distribution. These people will get their nets house to house for a period of 12 days.
“Then the last strategy is looking at the urbanization settings. Areas where their structure does not really permit or require them for the use of bed nets but they require other forms of malaria vector control. This is going to happen in Ilorin East, in Aare Ward 2.”
The campaign was organized with funding support from the Global Fund Malaria project and is expected to kick off on October 19 and end by November 1.
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