Ondo: NNDC Celebrates World Malaria Day 2024, Call For Clean Environment
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NNDC) has celebrated this year World Malaria Day, with a call to the people of Ondo State to clean up their environment.
The theme for this year Malaria Day is, “Accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable work”.
The event which took place at Comprehensive Health Centre, Arakale, Akure, the capital of Ondo State, was attended by the NDDC Executives led by Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde, the Executive Director of Corporate Services, Commissioner of Youth and Sports, Hon Saka Ogunleye, Commissioner of Regional Planning, Hon. Gbenga Olaniyi, health workers from the local government, stakeholders in health sector and the community leaders.
In his welcome addressed, the programme director, Dr. Kelvin Meyeyin said, how do we eradicated malaria in Nigeria as it is done in Europe and America.
Why are we still spending huge amount of money in dollars to procure malaria drugs and insecticide treated net, why don’t we eradicate it here.
Dr Kelvin said, he asked this question during his doctorat study in United States of America, and it caused commossion in the hall, and I still ask this question here today.
“Our health workers what are we doing? Our government officials and policy makers, what are we doing to eradicate malaria in Nigeria?
Agreed will talked about vasine, how many people has been vasinated? It difficult for a household within a week not for a person to come out with malaria.
When you look at a cost of the drugs they has been used. the person that will take of the person that has the malaria, and equally, there is a work that person supposed to be done in his or her firm. You can see serious economy lost as a nation”.
“In African countries especially, in North Africa, if you are traveling to US or UK, and malaria drugs is found in you, you be isolated for two weeks because those people used their initiative to eradicate it.
So, why do we not eradicate it, that is the question I have been asked for, for a years and I will continue to ask the question on when we are to eradicate it in Nigeria”, he said.
In his speech, the Executive Director of Corporate Services NDDC, Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde said, for us not to be affected by malaria, we must keep our environment clean, as health is wealth.
“Malaria is a killer disease and it easy to avoid if we make our environment clean”.
Abegunde said, immediately we feel the symptoms in our body, we need to go and see our doctor.
In the lecture delivered by the guest lecturer, Dr. Adekanbi said, malaria is a disease caused by a parasite of the plasmodium family.
” Malaria is one of sub-Saharan Africa’s most common poverty related diseases and is one of the leading causes of morbidity and morality among the young children.
Malaria mostly spreads to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquito.
Blood transfusion and contaminated needless may also transmit malaria.
And if it’s not treated, malaria can caused severe health problems such as seizures, brain damage, trouble breathing, fatigue, confusion, organ failure and death”.
Adekanbi stated further that, infants, children under 5 years, pregnant women, travellers and people with HIV or AIDS are at higher risk of severe infection.
On how to prevent the disease, she said “malaria can be prevented by avoiding mosquote bites and by taking medicines.
We should talk to doctor about taking medicines, such as chemoprophylaxis before traveling to areas where malaria is common”.
