Gombe targets 804,000 children for anti malaria
Programme Manager, Gombe State Malaria Elimination Programme Ubayo Ali, says for the 2022 malaria chemoprevention, no fewer than 804,000 children would benefit.
Our correspondent reports that the treatment commenced on Thursday for children between three months to 59 months as adhoc personnel would use Sulfadoxine Pyrimethamine Amodiaquine (SPAQ).
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According to him, based on NDHS 2018 report Gombe has 33 percent malaria prevalence rate, adding that chemoprevention and insecticide treated nets would reduce mortality rate induced by malaria in the state.
The Programme Manager revealed that the state is one of the 21 states in Nigeria currently benefiting from the seasonal malaria chemoprevention.
Ali said, “This is the season, for the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention activity that just started just in 2021 for us to reduce the menace of malaria most especially during raining season. This is done in about 21 states out of which Gombe is one.
“This chemoprevention is targeting children between three to 59 months, malaria menace has more burden on this age group including pregnant women.
“For this year our target is 804,000 children. They will not have to come to the facility to be attended to, instead we will be going from house to house. This means we will have about 8000 adhoc personnel that we are going to use in reaching this children in their houses across the state.”
The Programme Manager said the prevention would be carried out four times within the space of four months, noting that the programme expected to attain 100 percent coverage.
“Between Thursday 28th July to 31st Sunday July, Anybody that takes SPAQ atleast for one month it will prevent you from malaria. From 28th July to 31st and we will come back on the 28th August to give them another one which will protect them for another 28 days days. After that 28days we will come back and give another, it will be done four times, within four months,” Ali added.
Ali noted that there are free malaria commodities in 352 health facilities, across the 114 wards in the state, stressing that the aim was to reduce the increasing level malaria induced death.
He said, “We have free commodities in 352 health facilities, across 114 wards in 11 local government areas in the state. Gombe State government is very supportive in the distribution of this SPAQ across the 11 local government areas already government paid 10 million naira this year as counterpart funding for the four batches.”
Commenting on the lack of awareness on malaria vaccine for adults, Ali said, “the malaria vaccine has not reached Gombe yet but we have started discussing. Already it has piloted in two or three countries in the world and it is safe but it is yet to get to Gombe. It has not been officially launched in Nigeria.”
