Commodities, manpower, dilapidated facilities affect Malaria eradication in Gombe
Chima Azubuike
Lack of adequate malaria commodities, inadequate manpower in the facilities as well as dilapidated facilities structure are said to be part of challenges affecting the elimination of malaria in Gombe State.
Speaking with our correspondent, Gombe State Programme Officer, Civil Society in Malaria Control, Immunisation and Nutrition (ACOMIN), Samuel Chuwang noted that those were the critical challenges facing communities in the state.
He made this disclosure on Thursday, during Global Fund, Catholic Relief Services malaria grant state media meeting in Gombe.
Chuwang said, “Lack of adequate malaria commodities, at some health facilities, inadequate manpower in the facilities as well as dilapidated facilities structures.
“There is no how there will be quality healthcare services where the structures are dilapidated with no seats or electricity, without forgetting hard to reach areas that requires alot of resources to access the facility.
“So we are calling on government to see how they can remove such barriers by improving road networks, good communication skills to help reach the facility.”
While commending health care providers for their efforts, Chuwang stressed that self medication has reduced tremendously in the state.
“The attitude of workers in providing quality healthcare services to the people, whereby most of the facilities visited but with the ACOMIN project, there is a change in attitude, change in their orientation.
“They are becoming more committed to duty even in the community there is high patronage to facilities unlike before when people when to chemist or engage in self medication they now run to the facility,” he said.
Also speaking, State Coordinator, Mrs. Hassana Maisanda, in her address noted that the essence of the engagement was to deliver the requisite scorecards on malaria elimination in the state.
She said, “Akko, Billiri, Balanga, Dukku, Funakaye, Kwami, Kaltungo and Yalmatu Deba are the implementing LGA’s . The challenges include but not limited to increase difficulty to hard to reach areas, insecurity affecting many parts of the country, drug resistance to malaria parasite approaching the fight about malaria through community centred initiative, community monitoring project implemented by ACOMIN by tracking the cause of failed interventions and enhanced accountability among others
On his part, Programme Manager, Gombe State Malaria Elimination Programme, Ubayo Ali, noted that the state has surpassed the target in the distribution of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs).
He said, “This is the first time Gombe State is covering more than 100 percent of it target to the residents of the state. Sometime in 2018 we ended up with 98.5 percent.”
