FCT: 289,957 Malaria Cases Recorded In 2021
In 2021, the Federal Capital Territory recorded 289,000 malaria cases. Dr. Abubakar Tafida, the Mandate Secretary of the Health and Human Service Secretariat (HHSS), made this disclosure yesterday, at a stakeholders’ interactive forum organised by the Secretariat as part of activities to mark the 2022 World Malaria Day. He said that malaria had accounted for 70 percent of outpatient visits, 40 percent of admissions and a malaria prevalence rate of 35.4 percent.
According to Dr. Tafida, Nigeria accounts for 32 percent of malaria-related deaths as the disease accounts for 60 percent of admissions, 11 percent of maternal deaths, 25 percent of infant deaths, and 30 percent of under-five deaths. In his view, this year’s theme is timely, as it is a clarion call from the World Health Organisation (WHO) for new investments and innovation to speed up efforts to control malaria. The ever-growing slums in the FCT are causing stagnant water and breeding mosquitoes that carry malaria, he argued.
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He said that the FCT has adopted a multi-pronged approach towards controlling the menace of the disease such as the free provision of prophylaxis medicine, sulfadoxine pyrimethamine for pregnant women and free treatment and diagnostic testing of malaria cases in some selected primary health care facilities.
“Free distribution of 168,000 long lasting insecticides treated nets to communities and health facilities across the six FCT area councils for target population; and comprehensive and continuous public and community sensitisation programmes. Integrated supportive supervisory visits to health facilities across the FCT, to ensure quality malaria control service delivery; as well as quarterly review of malaria control activities in the FCT.”
In her remarks, on the control of malaria in Nigeria, Dr. Olusola Oresanya, of the Malaria Consortium, disclosed that Nigeria has the highest contributor of malaria burden (55.2 per cent) in the WHO African region. She explained that malaria is a treatable and curable disease, which could be controlled through sustained net campaign and bringing in mechanisms to build up existing interventions for health issues.
