Oyo ministry to distribute 4.5m mosquito nets

Mrs Maha Adaeze, a Consultant with Health Communication Capacity Collaborative (HC3), says the Oyo State Ministry of Health is to distribute 4.5 million Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLIN).

Adaeze, who said this on Friday at a “ Roll Back Malaria Sensitisation Workshop’’ held in Ibadan, added that the objective of the campaign was to distribute one free net to every two persons in the country.

She said that the state government would distribute the nets during a campaign scheduled to hold between Sept. 27 and Oct. 5.

“In the micro planning conducted eight months ago, the target is that 4.5 million LLIN Nets must be distributed in the replacement campaign commencing this month,” she said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the programme is being implemented by State Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health.

She said that the campaign would be carried out in all the 33 local government areas, with distribution points located in all the wards.

The consultant, who recalled that a mass campaign was carried out between 2012 and 2013 where 2. 8 million nets were distributed, added that three years were enough for the nets to be weak.

“I want to say that the slogan for the distribution is that “No Net Card, Not Net,” Also, only women will be allowed to the collection centres to avoid rowdiness,” she said.

Adaeze said the impact of the malaria scourge on the social and economic sectors in Nigeria amounted to one per cent reduction in Nigeria’s GDP and lower productivity.

She called for preventive measures through Vector Management strategy.

It would be recalled that that the Roll Back Malaria campaign was an initiative of the United States Government.

Other partners in the project include the Federal Ministry of Health, states Ministry of Health as well as local governments and the media.