Lagos County Club has urged Nigerians to protect themselves against malaria as they celebrate during the yuletide by ensuring their environment is clean and not a breeding ground for mosquito.

Its Swimming Section Chairman, Ayodeji Osikoya, said this at the Swim Against Malaria 2024 programme organised by the Swimming Section of the Lagos County Club.

He explained that malaria is a preventable and treatable illness. “It is quite sad to see that a preventable illness like malaria can be responsible for the pain and deaths of hundreds of children, pregnant mothers and individuals. Osikoya said the Swim Against Malaria is a global event.

Medical Doctor from Orthopedic Hospital Igbobi, Lagos Dr. Olubunmi Apata, said to prevent malaria people need to keep their environment clean devoid of stagnant water and dumps.

He said people should sleep under long lasting insecticide treated nets to avoid bites from mosquitoes. To reduce malaria burden in Nigeria, Apata said the government, private stakeholders and members of the general public have diverse roles to play.

A member of the programme’s planning committee, Dr. Laja Adesina, said Nigerians must understand that the fight against malaria is everybody’s business and not just that of the government.

“We must all come together to prevent malaria in our communities and we must also avoid self medication by ensuring that we get tested before treatment. We must commit to completing our malaria medications even when after we feel better and mostly importantly commit to preventing malaria infection by sleeping under treated bed nets and keeping our environment void of breeding sites of mosquitoes. Nobody should die from a preventable and treatable disease like malaria.”

In achieving zero malaria, he said it requires the efforts of ever Individuals, families, groups, communities, health workers, governments and the private sector working individually and corporately in the elimination of malaria. He said eliminating malaria means the interruption of local transmission of a specified malaria parasite species in communities involving deliberate efforts.