Twenty-five per cent of the 627, 000 people, who die from malaria each year, are from Nigeria.
This fact was released as Nigeria joins the rest of the world to mark the World Malaria Day today.
The Marketing Director, RB West Africa, Mr. Oguzhan Silivrili, spoke at a news conference to mark the day in Lagos.
Silivrili said the victims of malaria were mostly children under the age of five.
He said: ‘‘As I speak to you, millions of people are suffering from malaria all over Nigeria and every minute a child reportedly dies from malaria, it is not a destiny for Nigerian children, malaria is preventable. We have proved this in Kosofe with a 55 per cent reduction in malaria cases in children in only six months.
“To replicate the success of the project, we would go from community to community, house to house and mom to mom with the help of grass-root NGOs, to distribute insecticide treated nets and Mortein, as well as educate them on how to protect themselves and their families against Malaria,” he said.
The Public Health Vector Control Specialist and Head, Malaria Research Programme at the National Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Dr. Sam Awolola said a six-month project, which was conducted in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and RB Nigeria, makers of Mortein in Kosofe Local Government of Lagos State, noted a 55 per cent reduction in malaria in the area.
He said adherence to three core integrated malaria prevention methods would reduce the incidence and death associated with the disease in sub-saharan Africa.
The project, tagged: “Mortein Own a Community Project”, was to quantify the efficacy of adherence to the WHO three core integrated malaria prevention methods of reducing Malaria.
According to Awolola, there was a 55 per cent reduction in tmalaria among children under the age of 10, in homes where interventions provided to them were used. The Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) in Lagos, Mr Ronald Kayanja, hailed Mortein’s work on malaria prevention in Nigeria. He also stated that initiatives, such as the Mortein Own a Community Project is supporting the United Nations to achievea part of goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals: ”To end the epidemic of Malaria by 2030″.
The Advocacy Sensitisation Mobilisation Officer, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Mrs Akintunde Ibironke, who represented the commissioner of Health, hailed Mortein for its work and support in the fight against malaria.
