Governor Samuel Ortom said his administration will stop at nothing, in curbing the spread of Malaria in Benue State.
The Governor gave the assurance in Makurdi during a courtesy visit by a team from the National Coordinator, National Malaria Elimination Programme.
Mayowa Okunato reports that malaria remains a major public health challenge in Nigeria, and is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity.
Malaria prevalence in Benue State has reduced by almost a third from 45 percent in 2015 to 13 percent in 2018. But amid the battle to eliminate the coronavirus, health professionals recognise the need to continue implementing interventions on malaria eradication.
In order to completely eliminate the killer disease, 3,600,000 Long Lasting Insecticide Nets, LLINs, had been procured for distribution in the state.
In addition, adequate storage facilities, security, flagoff of distribution at the state and local government levels and sensitization campaigns as well as other logistics are needed to ensure the success of the program.
Governor Ortom agreed to take ownership of the impending distribution of the 3,600,000 LLINs in the state worth over N2.5 billion.
He also pledges to provide storage facilities and security for the nets at all levels, as well as logistics.
This civil society organization is also concerned about stabilizing the country’s economy and questions the prolonged lockdown due to the ravaging Corona virus pandemic
