The Kaduna State Government has announced plans to distribute 4.5 million insecticide-treated nets to 1.8 million households across the state.
Dr. Aishatu Abubakar-Sadiq, Permanent Secretary of the Kaduna State Ministry of Health, disclosed this during a news conference held on Wednesday in Kaduna.
She said the exercise will take place from June 30 to July 3, in collaboration with the National Malaria Elimination Programme, Catholic Relief Services, Society for Family Health, and Malaria Consortium.
Integration with Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC)
According to her, “The distribution campaign is one of the major strategies to deliver nets to the general populace, alongside the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) programme.”
She explained that the distribution would be integrated with the SMC initiative, a lifesaving intervention in which SPAQ, a malaria prevention drug, is administered to children aged 3 to 59 months.
She appealed to the residents in the state to support the intervention by making their children available for the administration of SPAQ.
According to Abubakar-Sadiq, about two million children under 5 will be reached with the malaria drug between June and September, in line with the strategy of the National Programme.
This, she said, also aimed at preserving the environment by retrieving old mosquito nets through the “End of Life of Nets” programme.
“This year’s campaign will witness a slight modification.
“In line with the targeted distribution strategy of the National Programme to preserve our environment, we will be retrieving old nets through the End of Life of Nets programme,” she said.
She further urged residents to redeem new nets with their e-token at designated distribution points across the state.
National strategic goal: 80% coverage by 2025
Abubakar-Sadiq added that Nigeria’s key strategic plan for vector control aims to improve access to and utilization of vector control interventions to at least 80% of the targeted population by 2025.
She appealed to residents of Kaduna State to support the initiative by participating actively and ensuring household members are present to receive the nets and other preventive interventions.
What you should know
Malaria remains one of the most pressing public health challenges in Nigeria. The country accounts for about 27% of global malaria cases and 32% of global malaria deaths, according to the World Malaria Report by WHO. Children under five and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable.
- Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) are one of the most effective tools for preventing malaria. They act as both a physical and chemical barrier, reducing mosquito bites while also killing mosquitoes on contact.
- Studies show that ITN use can reduce malaria incidence by 50% and child mortality by 20% in high-burden areas.
- To scale up malaria prevention, Nigeria regularly conducts mass distribution campaigns where millions of free ITNs are distributed to households.
States like Kaduna, Kano, and Bauchi recently launched ITN distribution campaigns, supported by the Global Fund and CRS, aiming to distribute over 30 million nets in 2024 alone.
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