The Jigawa Government says it has concluded arrangements
to immunise two million children against malaria.
Malam Bilya Haruna, the Coordinator, Malaria Control Programme in the state, made this known in an
interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse on Tuesday, in commemoration of the 2022 World Malaria Day (WMD).
NAN reports that World Malaria Day is annually observed on April 25 around the globe to raise awareness about
the pandemic that has continued to claim lives and send millions to hospital.It is a day marked by all member states of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to underscore the collective energy
and commitments of the global malaria community in uniting around the common goal of a world free of malaria.
The global observance has “Harness Innovation to Reduce the Malaria Disease Burden and Save Lives” as its 2022
theme.The theme is a call for investments and innovation that will bring new vector control approaches, diagnostics, antimalarial
medicines and other tools to speed the pace of progress against malaria.
The symptoms of malaria include pain in the muscles or abdomen, fever, chills, fatigue, malaise, shivering, or sweating,
vomiting and headache.
The Jigawa malaria control programme coordinator, therefore, said the state government was targetting
children between 0-59 months for the four-month immunisation, expected to commence in July.
He explained that the children would be immunised during the annual Seasonal Malaria Chemopreventive (SMC) exercise.
He said the SMC is the administration of sulfadoxine pyrimethamine plus amodiaqiune to children under five years
to prevent them from malaria during peak period of its transmission, which is between July and October.
According to him, the state, in collaboration with development partners, distributed about four million Long-Lasting Insecticide
Treated Nets (LLITNs) to residents of the state in 2020.
Haruna said the gesture was to reduce contact with mosquitoes, the vector that transmits the malaria parasite, especially among
children and pregnant women.
He further said that more than 1.5 million children were administrated the drug under the SMC exercise in 2021.
He added that “the state government, in collaboration with development partners and other stakeholders,
are doing their best to eliminate malaria disease through several ways.
“These ways include the provision of insecticide treated nets to residents, administration of antimalarial drugs to children
who are most vulnerable.
“Pregnant women, who are also vulnerable, are being given nets to sleep under to protect them and the unborn baby from malaria.
“The expectant mothers are also being given fansidar anti-malarial drug monthly until they deliver their babies.
All these are to protect women and children from the disease.” (NAN)
