Eliminating malaria in Ogun

Female Anopheles mosquito PHOTO CREDIT: google.com — Female Anopheles mosquito
PHOTO CREDIT:
google.com

SIR: Malaria is easily the world’s largest parasitic disease, killing more people than any other except tuberculosis, as it is also a major public health problem in more than 100 countries, inhabited by a total of some 2.4 billion people, or close to half of the world’s population. The historical perspective also revealed that malaria is caused in humans by four species of single-celled plasmodium protozoa parasites: P.Falciparum, P. Vivax, P. Ovale and P. Malaria, with P Falciparum accounting for the majority of infections and being the most lethal.

However, many local and international organisations have made concerted efforts to eliminate malaria parasites through development of vaccines and new therapies and putting in place basic education programmes for populations at risks

It is against this backdrop that the Ogun State Government remains committed towards total elimination of the malaria scourge in the state. The state government has distributed two million insecticide nets to all the 20 local councils of the state and also procured and distributed over 57,000 rapid diagnostic test kits to primary health facilities to curb the disease.

Also, government has set up a Multi-Year Training Plan (MYTP) in different parts of the state, supported by ‘Support for National Malaria Programme’ (SUNMap) and would cover year 2015-2020 on malaria elimination.

The national malaria programme, Technical Working Group (TWG), was recently equipped by the state with the wherewithal, aimed at improving the measures put in place to tackle malaria in the state, as well as partner with a Spanish firm ‘Inesfly’ to train people on how to use Inesfly insecticides paint which is meant to kill all forms of mosquitoes and safe to human health.

• Temitayo Taylor, Abeokuta, Ogun State