Gombe to commence door-to-door malaria treatment

Gombe State would soon commence door-to-door malaria treatment to reduce deaths from the disease.

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The Programme Manager, Gombe State Malaria Elimination Programme, Ubayo Ali,  disclosed this on Friday, during a media meeting organised by the Civil Society in Malaria Control, Immunisation and Nutrition in Gombe.

Ali revealed that despite the fact that the campaign tagged ‘Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention’ has been active in Nigeria since 2014, it is still yet to be implemented in the state till today.

He stated that Sulfadoxine Pyrimethamine Amodiaquine (SPAQ) would be administered to children between 59 months and 3 years, adding that the drug would help reduce malaria deaths.

Ali stated, “The difference between the SPAQ given to only children between 3- 59 months and the Sulfaxine Pyrimethamine (SP) given to women who are pregnant is that SPAQ is to prevent malaria in children.

“We are going to implement for the first time Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention, although it happened first in 2014 it is happening here for the first time. This is an activity that requires us to go house to house to give children from 3 to 59 months; what we call Sulfadoxine Pyrimethamine Amodiaquine.
“We are going to involve more than 7000 Adhoc staff in this activity, this includes the Civil Society Organisations, Community Based Organisations and many others.”
While praising the effort of partners, the programme manager, noted that their contributions have helped to reduce malaria-induced deaths in the state, adding that across 352 facilities in the state artemether and lumefantrine is administered without charges to indigents.

“Artemether and lumefantrine are provided with support from the Global Fund on routine bases in over 352 facilities in Gombe. They are given free of charge. We have rapid diagnostic test kits in all the 352 facilities in the state. Malaria deaths have reduced significantly in Gombe.

“The Civil Society in Malaria Control, Immunisation and Nutrition is doing well because it is not easy for someone to assist you in going directly into the communities. It is helping malaria intervention in Gombe State.

“We have had support from the Global Fund and they are supporting the state with about 23 million US dollars. It is not coming in cash but in kind because they will at least support us with over 3 million doses of Sulfadoxine Pyrimethamine Amodiaquine.

“They are also providing us over two million worth of Insecticide-Treated bed Nets for malaria prevention.

“Gombe State can do this because it is providing the required counterparts funding most especially in procuring the warehouses where we store the Insecticide Treated bed Net as well as procurement of sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine, for pregnant women,” Ali added.

However, Mrs. Hassana Maisanda, who is the State Coordinator, Civil Society in Malaria Control, Immunisation and Nutrition, stated that seven Local Government Areas are benefitting from the intervention to eliminate the malaria scourge in the state.

Martha Martins/Punch