A total of 8.4 million specially treated mosquito nets are now in every household in Nigeria’s Kano State. The nets are part of major push to reduce the incidence of malaria in Nigeria.
Speaking during the Long-Lasting Insecticide-Treated Nets (LLINs) flag-off ceremony, the Secretary to the Kano State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, thanked the Federal Ministry of Health, the Global Fund, World Health Organization (WHO) for supporting the state in its efforts to eradicate malaria.
The Global Fund paid for mosquito nets which have been treated with insecticide to keep citizens safe from harmful insects, especially mosquitoes
“Citizenry should make the best use of the nets to improve on the health indices of the state and Nigeria at large”
“Health is top of our administration’s agenda and we will make sure the State Ministry of Health sensitizes the populace and ensures that the uptake of the LLINs (post-campaign) yields the desired result,” he said.
Nigeria has the highest burden of malaria globally, accounting for about a quarter of all cases. The use of LLINs is one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent the disease.
Nigeria has registered a progressive decline in the burden of malaria from 42% in 2010 to 23% in 2018, according to the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2018. The prevalence in Kano State is 32.4%, still above the national average.
WHO reported in the 2018 edition of the World Malaria Report revealed that progress in the fight against malaria has stalled, therefore insists that to get back on track, countries must accelerate efforts to control and eliminate the disease.
In Kano State, WHO Nigeria played a key role in supporting the net distribution campaign notably, quality control, in-process monitoring and deployment of monitors to assess if people used their nets and looked after them properly.
