Malaria Remains A Public Health Concern — Ebonyi Government
THE government of Ebonyi State stated on Tuesday that malaria remains a public health issue in the state and that it is a primary cause of mobility among pregnant women and children under five years old.
Dr. Moses Ekuma, the state commissioner for health, said this in Abakaliki at a news conference held in honor of World Malaria Day this year.
According to him, the illness was the reason for more than 69% of hospital admissions.
He said “According to World Health Organization, mosquito transmitted diseases kill over 1 million people in a year and causes 3 to 5 hundred million out of cases per year.
“In Nigeria, Ebonyi state in particular the disease is still a public health problem, over 69 percent of hospital attendance is caused by Malaria and the major cause of mobility in pregnancy, women and children of less than 5 years.
“World Malaria day is an annual event, the theme for this year is “accelerating the fight against Malaria for more equitable world.” The celebration offers an The event provides a chance for both malaria-endemic and malaria-free nations to educate the public about the terrible effects of the disease and to recruit new donors to the worldwide effort to combat malaria.
He stated: “It is also a chance for a Malaria affected region to increase awareness on the Malaria diseases and hence win more political will and support from government towards the disease.
“Objective of the celebration is actually to increase awareness on Malaria diseases and to encourage the use of proven major to control Malaria.
“It's also to catalyse government towards increase political will and support to roll back malaria interventions, and that the Ebonyl state government is doing perfectly well.
“To also to increase the involvement and demand of malaria commodities an services and to awaken more partners to rise up to the fight against Malaria and hence increase investment in Malaria control efforts.
“The government of Ebonyi state under the leadership of Governor Francis Nwifuru done a lot in the area of healthcare provision for Ebonyians and control of Malaria in particular, training of new recruited doctors, nurses and pharmacist to build their capacities on Malaria peace management
“The state have also distributed insecticide treated net to pregnant women attending antenatal and immunization in the health facilities across the state.
“And there is also provision of free MRDT of suspected Malaria cases in the state, government have also provided free anti- malaria drugs to facilities.
“All these effort of government and many more have resulted to be more effective and efficient state Malaria program and gradual reduction of malaria from 56.5percent confirmed cases in 2023 tp 50.7 percent as at the end of first quarter of this year."
Moses conveyed his appreciation to the AMURT foundation, USAID, WHO, and other development partners for their assistance in the fight against malaria. He emphasized the significance of ongoing initiatives to further lower the number of malaria cases.
John Chukwuemeka Nkwuda, the State Malaria Elimination Programme's programs manager, had earlier emphasized the topic of “accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable world" and the catchphrase “Let's change the narrative now!” in his introductory remarks.
He emphasized how crucial it is to alter behavior patterns, particularly when it comes to malaria treatment, in order to reach the objective of completely eliminating malaria in Ebonyi State.
“There is no better time than now to change our behavioral patterns, especially in the treatment of malaria. Sometimes, we need to change the way we do things to ensure that malaria is eradicated to zero per cent in Ebonyi State," he stated.
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