Enugu State Government has flagged off the state malaria elimination initiative with free testing and treatment as part of malaria elimination interventions by the Governor Peter Mbah administration.

The programme which was organised in collaboration with the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) and excellence community education welfare scheme (ECEWS), with support from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Lives and Livelihood Fund Project, held at the Uwani Health Centre, in Enugu South LGA of the state.

The collaboration is meant to provide malaria diagnosis and treatment to residents of Enugu State,
especially for under-5 and pregnant women.

Speaking at the event, the state commissioner for health, Dr. Emmanuel Obi, explained that the programme was part of Governor Mbah administration’s efforts towards reducing the burden of severe malaria from its current 24 percent prevalence to the barest minimum, particularly, with the collective efforts of its partners.

He said that malaria is a major public health concern in Nigeria and a significant cause of under-5 morbidity and mortality with a prevalence of 23 per cent in under-5 children.

The commissioner disclosed that Enugu had last received malaria elimination intervention in 2014 and 2015, saying that with the new initiative, every healthcare facility in the state now had free test kits and anti-malaria drugs available to residents at no cost.

Obi commended Governor Mbah for making the initiative possible, noting that the IMPACTS Project, launched in 2018 and implemented in various Nigerian states, came into effect in Enugu in 2021.

The Commissioner cautioned health officers who might be tempted to charge any fee for testing and treating residents, saying the government had put in place an effective network to ensure that the anti-malaria drugs and the testing get to the people who need them for free.

He called on the people of the state to stop circumventing the primary healthcare centres, saying, “They’re there for you. If you go there and see nobody, report to us. We will find out why the officers are not there. There are plenty programmes like health insurance, going on at the PHCs, making treatments free.”

He also emphasised the importance of environmental management and control in eliminating the malaria burden.

The National Coordinator of the Malaria Elimination Programme, Dr Nnenna Ogbulafor, highlighted that Nigeria had the highest malaria burden, contributing to 27 per cent of global cases and 30 per cent of deaths.

She frowned at the current malaria statistics in Enugu State which stood at 24 per cent, and above the national average.

While disclosing that they had commenced an inception workshop to introduce the programme in the state, and urged residents to take full advantage of the free services provided to push down the burden of the disease.