RSG Blames Malaria Scourge On Bad Habits

The Rivers State Government has said that bad habits are some of the factors military against the success of the fight to eliminate malaria.

The State Commissioner for Health, Tamunoiyoriari Sampson Parker, who represented the governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, stated this in a keynote address at an event to celebrate this year’s World Malaria Day (WMD) yesterday in Port Harcourt.

Dr Parker said, if residents of the state would commit to keeping their environment clean, it would help to eliminate malaria parasite vector, mosquito.

He said already, government has carried out a lot of interventions in its vector elimination programme through, Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS), Distribution of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets and Larviciding.

He further said, government has invested a lot of money in procuring other consumables for the control and prevention of malaria, and observed that presently, there were 5,000 loses of anti-malarias available to the public, and directed the appropriate medical facilities to pick them up for distribution, while charging the primary health care management Board to step up its Home-based care intervention to ensure that more people have access to the anti-malarials.

Speaking on the theme, “Invest in the Future: Defeat Malaria,” Professor Omotayo Ebong, stated that $3.6 billion was needed globally to control malaria successfully.

Of this amount, Prof Ebong said Africa needed $2.4 billion while Nigeria alone requires $1.2 billion to effectively, control the menace.

Reducing the health and economic burden would require the individual to first go for testing and consultation as well as complete treatment course, she said while calling on governments and stakeholders to invest in drugs, training, research, conscientious discharge of duties and continuous monitoring of drug efficiency.

Tonye Nria-Dappa