The Sokoto State government is to distribute 3.2 million Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs), Health Commissioner Dr Ali Inname has said.
Inname said the distribution is schedule to begin in June 2022.
Already, he said, the state government has set up 16 planning and distribution committees to ensure a hitch free exercise.
He also noted that government officials, non governmental organisations, community-based groups, traditional rulers, security agencies and journalists were included in the committees.
The Commissioner explained that the state plans to reach five million people with the treated nets.
The commissioner said that comprehensive malaria treatment is ongoing in 575 health facilities across the state.
Inname cautioned people against misusing the nets.
”The state government is collaborating with USAID Malaria Illumination Initiative (PMI) to deliver 450,000 to 600,000 doses of malaria medicine to 575 supported health facilities in 23 local government area of the state.
”The government also entered into another partnership with Malaria Consortium to deliver 1.2 million to 1.3 million doses each of the four cycles medicines to children under five during the rainy season between July and November every year from 2015,” he said.
He added that the state government bought N1.5 million worth of doses of malaria medicine and 50,000 units of ITNs for distribution to facilities in the state.
The commissioner also said training of malaria services, behavioural change has been conducted in collaboration with Breakthrough Action Nigeria.
He said other efforts made by the state government included strengthening of malaria vector control activities along with statewide fumigation exercise in all the 244 political wards in 2021.
” We established malaria advocacy working groups for awareness, sponsored training of LGAs supervisors, development of micro plan for 2022 and trained 45 laboratory scientists as malaria microscopic at at 2022 ” Inname said.
Also speaking, the Director-General, Sokoto State Malaria Control Agency, Alhaji Muslihu Gobir, said Sokoto is the first state to establish a Malaria agency.
”Sokoto state has achieved 70 per cent electronic data collection and reporting in the state, adding that malaria treatment is always available at all times,” he said.
He commended donor agencies for their support.
Contributing, Mr Benedict Onoja of USAID/PMI and other representatives of Breakthrough Action, BUA Group expressed continued commitments on supporting malaria control programmes in the state.
