‘Nigeria should be malaria-free by 2020’

Officials of Reckitt Benckiser, the maker of mortein insecticides, have said the company is committed to making Nigeria malaria-free in year 2020, through its innovative products.

However, they explained, when a mosquito bites infected persons, a small amount of blood is taken, which contains malaria parasite. These parasites develop within the mosquito within a week.

When the mosquito takes its next blood meal, the parasites are injected with the mosquito’s saliva into the persons being bitten. After a period of between two weeks and several months spent in the livers, the malaria parasites start to multiply within red blood cells, causing malaria but mortein kills 100 per cent mosquitoes.

Speaking, at Press Conference to announce mortein “own a community campaign” organised to educate members of Kosofe Local Council, on prevention of mosquitoes, courtesy of Reckitt Benckiser in Ikeja, Lagos, the Marketing Director, Reckitt Benckiser West Africa, Mr. Oguhzan Silivrili, said the company has one of fast-moving consumer goods in Nigeria He added that Reckitt Benckiser’s power brands are all market leaders sold nearly in 200 countries and found in millions of households all over the World.

However, Silivrili explained the vision of the company is to have a world where people are healthier and better. To achieve this, the company has upheld the value of innovation providing innovative solutions through their products to ensure healthier lives in safer homes.

Silivrili said: “Our number one insect killer brand mortein has taken fore in its category to combat the scourge of malaria in Nigeria.” Silivrili informed the Reckitt Benckiser as corporate socially responsibility, (CSR) has contributed a lot to Nigeria over the years in order to give back to the society where it operates.

He said: “Mortein stepped ahead of others when we launched the Mortein Voice against Malaria Campaign in 2012, a pan-Nigeria anti-malaria campaign, which sought to educate pregnant mothers on how they can protect themselves and their children age of 0 to 5 years against malaria.

The imitative is also aimed at supporting the current effort of the federal government to reduce maternal and infant mortality in the state to the barest minimum”.

Silivrili stated the campaign was designed for Kosofe local council in Lagos State because the council is waterlog area with the need to educate members of the community on using of mortein products and also keep their environment clean.

He said: “The focus for this year’s campaign, which is a step ahead of previous years would be centered on “own a community initiative”. This will specifically address few selected communities in Lagos State”. “We are partnering with Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) to get all mothers in the community to act.

We educate them to do something useful with the information passed across to them through Lagos State Ministry of Health and the mortein activation team.

Working with NIMR, we would be communicating the relevance of the 3-pronged approach to eliminate malaria, which is the use of the treated mosquito nets. Cleaning of the environment and the proper use of insecticide that kill 100 percent mosquitoes”. “This campaign would run for six months, giving the community all these three inventions, comparing it with the baseline, which is prior intervention”.

Senior Programme Officer, Global Fund Malaria Project Dr. Diwe Ekweremadu, from Federal Ministry of Health, said the ministry recently launched malaria strategic plan that would last from 2014 to 2020.

He added it is a document that provides road map where the country wants to go in terms of malaria elimination. Ekweremadu stated the ministry wants to achieve less than five per cent malaria free in the year 2020.

However, he said the ministry, cannot achieve that with out collaboration with private organisations, civil societies, research organisations including other international organisations development partners as well. “With all hands on deck we believe to achieve malaria free in Nigeria.

We are championing robust vapor integrated management, test before treatment. We advise people to get tested rather than self-medication, if they have symptoms suggestive of malaria. Once you have malaria we offer artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), treatment.

We also offer community advocacy we advising community members to clean their environments to ensure malaria free. With out clean environment and self-hygiene we cannot achieve malaria free. We also educate them to sleep under treated mosquito nets”. He said.