The Nasarawa State Government says efforts towards eliminating malaria in the state have helped in reducing its spread to less than 15 per cent in the last five years.
Dr Gaza Gwamna, Commissioner for Health in the state disclosure at a media parley of the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) round four on Tuesday in Lafia.
The commissioner explained that the feat in the fight against the scourge under the SMC initiative was supported by the Malaria Consortium (MC).
Malaria Consortium is one of the largest international non-profit organisations working towards the elimination of malaria and other infectious diseases in Africa, Asia, and America.
Gwamna noted that in the last three years of the implementation of the SMC and other anti-malaria interventions, the burden has reduced drastically to 15 per cent, particularly amongst children.
“From the creation of the state the burden of malaria used to be 60 percent, but was reduced to 30 per cent in 2019 and now 15 per cent,” he added.
He further said that the state government targets 985, 788 eligible populations, especially children under five years in 2024 to be administered the malaria drugs in its effort to reduce the prevalence to zero per cent.
He called on residents of the state to regularly go for malaria tests to ascertain their status before treatment to avoid complications.
Gwamna said since the disease was responsible for the death of many people, the state government was investing towards eliminating it.
He warned that not all fevers are malaria-related and advised residents against self-medication to guard against complications.
He further advised residents to visit any health facility in the state for testing and subsequent treatment if tested positive.
He advised the public to sleep under treated mosquito nets, adding that such practice is currently the best method to prevent malaria.
The commissioner further said that the media parley was to create awareness on how to reduce the burden of malaria in the state.
He therefore, commended journalists for their support to the campaign against malaria and appealed for its sustenance to enable them to win the fight. (NAN).