By Abel Johngold ORHERUATA
In a renewed bid and collaboration to promoting and achieving improved malaria and health outcomes in eliminating malaria owing to its severity in Nigeria, Global Fund has approved another 3 years malaria grant for the Country with its focus on eliminating malaria owing to the severity of the problem.
This was disclosed by the Civil Society in Malaria Control, Immunization and Nutrition (ACOMIN), Delta State Chapter during a Press briefing for Delta State Media meeting on the global fund malaria community-led monitoring project implemented by ACOMIN.
At the briefing, the State Programme Officer (SPO) on Malaria Control, Austin Uwede, asserted that malaria has in recent times claimed the lives of Nigerians more than any other infectious disease/virus.
While calling on Nigerians to avoid trivialising the pandemic and to stop the misuse of preventive measures provided to curb malaria in our societies, Uwede asserted that “it takes a shorter period for malaria to shutdown an individual’s system compared to other diseases”.
Uwede, who revealed that Nigeria reportedly accounts for approximately 27% of the global malaria burden in 2021 and 31% of the estimated malaria deaths worldwide, said ACOMIN, an NGO saddled with the implementation of projects on malaria, immunization and nutrition in Nigeria since 2010, organized the Media Meeting with its critical stakeholders and partners such as the Delta State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS (SACA); Society for Family Health (SFH) as Technical Service Organizations (TSOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and the Press, to chart a way forward in addressing issues bordering on effective prevention, diagnosis, treatment and support services for infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Tuberculosis (TB) and other epidemic diseases bedevilling vulnerable population and those in remote or underserved areas.
He reeled out some of the successes recorded this year in Delta State which include procurement and donation of 10 plastic chairs to Uwheru Primary Health Centre in Ughelli North LGA by a philanthropist; purchase and donation of 50 electric bulbs to Ugborhen Primary Health Centre by the ED of Community Empowerment and Development Initiative; fumigation of Ukwu-Oba Primary Health Centre in Aniocha South LGA by a community philanthropist; and rehabilitation of sign post at Uwheru Primary Health Centre by the community.
The State Program Officer, Austin Uwede, however called on Government at all levels, the private sector and community stakeholders to commit to improving the funding and resources for primary healthcare delivery, increasing awareness creation and active advocacy, volunteer, support and participation in community-based health projects.
Earlier in his message, the State Coordinator of ACONIM, Pastor. Greg Sifo explicited on issues bordering on sexual exploitation as a bait to contracting diseases under the thematic areas of the project such as HIV/AIDs and Tuberculosis, attributing such susceptibility to poverty and lack of moral will to resist sexual advances.
Giving credence to Sifo’s position, the SPO, Social Behaviour Change Communication Advisor, Mrs. Mercy Momoh of the Society for Family Health (SFH) affirmed that poverty sometimes leads to sexual concession and exploitation.
Both speakers, Sifo and Momoh respectively emphasized on the need for individuals to complete their dosage to avoid resistance insisting that prevention is better than cure.