Awka
The ongoing mass distribution of Insecticide Treated Mosquito Nets, ITNs in Anambra State will be concluded on the 17th of August 2022.
The exercise had commenced on Sunday the 7th of this month.
The distribution exercise is being done by the state government in collaboration with the National Malaria Elimination Programme, NMEP and the Malaria Consortium, with support from GiveWell Open philanthropic funding.
A total of 3.8 million nets will be distributed to households in the state.
The target is that each household will get at least one mosquito net, while the distribution ration for individual to net is 2:1.
Speaking during a media orientation programme to mark the take-off of the exercise in Awka, the State Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Obidike represented by the Director of Public Health in the Ministry, Afam Anaeme explained that the distribution of the ITNs will be done on a door-to-door basis across the 21 Local Government Areas of the state.
He explained that household registration and distribution will be done simultaneously between the 7th and 17th of this month, urging households to ensure that they have someone at home to receive the health team.
“We have designed this exercise in a way that members of the Mobilization and Distribution Teams are drawn from their respective LGAs.
“This is to eradicate the mind-set that the exercise is to bring anything negative and to get the people to own the process,’’ he said.
In an overview of the exercise, the technical workstream adviser for one of the partners, Malaria Consortium, Titilope Akinlalu, explained that for this 2022 campaign, they will be using Information Communication Technology for Development, ICT4D to deploy ITN mass campaign.
She said they do not just want to distribute nets but for the people to actually use the nets.
Akinlalu revealed that to achieve this, they will be organizing post- implementation activities to enable the households understand the importsnce of using the nets.
“We are also engaging community leaders to ensure quick and rapid assessment after the distribution of the net.
“All we want is 100 percent ownership and 80 percent utilization
“A lot of resources is going into this exercise and the donors would not want after the massive resources expended on the campaign, to still see high incidence of malaria,” she emphasized.
In an exposition, the Drug Demand Consultant, Malaria Consortium, Mohammed Farouk, hoped that the innovations introduced in the distribution campaign will engender a reduction in the prevalence rate of malaria in Anambra State.
“Nigeria accounts for one quarter of the malaria burden in the African continent.
“Malaria can be prevented by not allowing that vector that transmits that parasite to bite you.
“It is our expectation that after this exercise, every community in the state would have been aware of the importance of ITN nets and how to use them, he said.
