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Mrs Soludo Says Anambra Govt Working To Be Among First Nigerian States To Receive Malaria Vaccine.
By Daniel Ezeigwe
Anambra Governor’s wife, Mrs Nonye Soludo has disclosed that the state government has already kicked off plans to be among the first states in Nigeria to receive the new malaria vaccine.
Mrs Soludo who stated this in a statement released in Awka to mark the 2023 World Malaria Day, noted that taking delivery of the vaccine which has been consented to for use in the country, would bring to an end the era of one of the commonest household sicknesses in the state.
She explained that the since the distribution of over 3.8 million insecticide treated nets in 2022, malaria rate has been significantly reduced in under-five children in Anambra State, from 77.8% which it stood as at February 2022 to 14.3 % in February 2023.
The governor’s wife who is also the Anambra Net Ambassador, noted that insecticide treated nets use in the state has also increased from 27% in 2022 to 57% this year, accounting for a marginal decline in reported malaria cases across medical facilities in Anambra State under one year.
While asking households, especially those housing children and pregnant women to continue to sleep under mosquito nets, Mrs Soludo maintained that her husband’s administration, taking prime notice of the contributions of malaria to infant and maternal deaths, is working committedly to reduce malaria cases to barest number.
She also appealed to residents of the state to ensure that their environments are constantly kept clean, while certain human habits that enable breeding of mosquitoes must be avoided.
World Malaria Day is marked on April 25 of every year, with the World Health Organization, WHO, pinning this year’s celebration on the theme “Time to deliver zero malaria: invest, innovate, implement”.
