USAID Donates $14.6m Treated Nets In Two States

The Director of the U.S.
Agency for Development (USAID), Mr Michael Harvey, on Friday, announced the donation of 14.6 million dollars (N2.8 billion) worth of insecticide-treated bed nets to Cross River and Ebonyi states.
The U.S. Government had since 2010 contributed 345 million dollars (N69 billion) to the prevention of malaria with more than 50 million Nigerians benefiting.
Harvey said in a statement issued by the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria, that the donation was the U.S. government’s commitment to the prevention of malaria in Nigerian communities.
“The cost of the bed nets, including transportation from the factory to eventual households, is valued at 14.6 million dollars (N2.8 billion).
“We believe that bed nets bring prevention directly into every Nigerian home.
“It is up to families to hang them and sleep under them daily to protect themselves and the most vulnerable, especially pregnant women and children under five,’’ he said.
The director said that nine other states from the six geo-political zones in the country would receive the agency’s donation of bed nets in the months ahead.
Harvey expressed his organisation’s willingness to work closely with Nigeria’s National Malaria Control Programme and Malaria Control programmes in the states to prevent malaria in communities.
He said that the donation would continue to improve the use of treated bed nets, indoor spraying, accurate diagnosis and preventive treatment of pregnant women in Nigeria.