The Development partners working against malaria in Zamfara state have crowned the wife of the state Governor Hajiya Huriya Dauda Lawal as net ambassador, as she flagged off the distribution of mosquito nets in the state.
Those partners included USAID-PMI, GHSC- PSM implementing partners who appreciated support from the state government toward eradicating malaria.
Speaking during the formal flagged off ceremony for the distribution of insecticide-treated mosquitoes nets (ITN) on Saturday in Gusau,the commissioner for Health Dr Aisha Mohammed Anka said it is the fourth time a mass net distribution campaign of this nature is happening in the state.
“I welcome you all to this important occasion for the flag-off the distribution of 3.2 million Insecticide-treated Nets (ITNs) in Zamfara state”.
The commissioner who was represented by the acting permanent secretary Dr Bashir Adamu disclosed that the distribution was First held in 2010, then in 2015, later in 2020, and now in 2023.
“We are delighted that Zamfara state is among the few states in the country to have had smooth replacement campaigns for the Insecticide- treated nets in successive sessions”.
According to him,malaria interventions has no doubt contributed to the progress being made in the fight against Malaria over the past decade.
” However, we understand that the war against malaria is far from over as the latest Malaria Indicator Survey showed malaria prevalence for children under-5 to be 37% in the state”.
“Our goal is to maintain a downward trend of malaria burden in the state till we eventually attain the pre-elimination status of less than 5% prevalence”.
He lamented that, despite the progress made, malaria remains a significant public health threat to the state.
“Let me use this opportunity to inform the people of Zamfara, that there is a total of 1,144 distribution points spread across all the 147 wards of the state”.
He advised women to visit the designated distribution point written on their net cards to collect their free net starting tomorrow, 24th December 2023 to 2nd January 2024.
He maintained that The Against Malaria Foundation (AMF) procured the nets at a total cost of Nine Billion six Hundred and Ninety Million naira only (9,690,000,000) while the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) provided an operational cost of One Billion One Hundred Eighty-Six Million Seventeen Thousand Six Hundred and Fifty-Two Naira Only (1,186,017,652).
Earlier on partners during the ceremony lauded the Zamfara state government under the leadership of His Excellency, Dr. Dauda Lawal, for the goodwill and continuous support and attention given to malaria as well as other public health challenges in the state.
. TheWitness
