By Yetunde Verissimo
Abuja- Nigerians have been advised to remain relentless in the fight against malaria pandemic and to stop over the counter treatment for malaria without carrying proper tests to confirm.
The National Coordinator, National Malaria Elimination program NMEP
Dr Audu Bala Mohammed who made the call on Monday, at a media pally to mark the 2017 world malaria day, stressed that Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) are to be carried out for proper confirmation before commencing treatment.
Dr Mohammed stated that although malaria prevalence had declined from 42 per cent in 2010 to 27 per cent in 2015, and a continuous drop in the last few years, the efforts by the NMEP is still on going in both rural and urban communities.
He stated that; “Long Lasting Insecticidal nets (LLINs) replacements are to be carried out in Kwara, Imo, Ondo, Osun and Adamawa states”.
Speaking further, the World Health Organization(WHO) representative, Linda Ozor, said that despite the decline in mortality rate, malaria still poses a huge threat to the nation.
Ozor announced that WHO had recommended the Artemisinin-based Combination Therapies (ACTs) be used to treat malaria as against the old drugs which the strain had become resistant to.
Also, the USAID HC3 Nigeria project representative, Anna McCartney-Melstad, congratulated Nigerians on the progress achieved in its fight against malaria pandemic, adding that the 2017 world malaria day themed “Playing Your Role” should be a guide to ensure a total eradication.
