Edo Govt Flags off Distribution of 2.6m Insecticidal Nets

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

The governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, recently flagged off the distribution of 2. 6 million long lasting insecticidal nets with a call on households to ensure they sleep under the nets to eradicate malaria from the state.

The event tagged ‘Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) Replacement Campaign’, organised by the Edo State Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Catholic Relief Service (C.R.S), attracted international and local stakeholders in the health sector, who lauded the government for putting healthcare on the front burner.

Assuring Edo people of “well articulated policies on public health issues”, the governor stressed that a proactive approach like sleeping under the nets was cheaper than treating the disease. Adding that the state has set a 100 per cent distribution target from the current 86 per cent.

The Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole, said Edo has been in the fore front and continues to make giant strides in keeping up with malaria elimination intervention.

Represented by the Director, Public Health in the ministry, Dr. Evelyn Ngige, added that the state occupies a strategic position in the country and maintained that “If we succeed in the replacement of the LLINs in Edo State, it will translate to rapid scale up of our overall national coverage target.”

The First Lady, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, who was installed as the Ambassador of the Roll Back Malaria campaign in the state said she was taught early in life to always sleep under nets and that the practice kept her and her siblings free from malaria during childhood.

“As a child, I have always slept under mosquito nets and I remember my father at that time will go round all our beds to ensure our nets were well tucked under the mattresses. Apart from its health benefits, it created a strong bond between us and our father,” she said.

The Edo State Coordinator, World Health Organisation (WHO), Ms Faith Ireye, noted that efforts by Obaseki’s in the health sector have ensured that young children and pregnant women have access to life saving prevention tool such as the LLINs.

In his remark, Acting Country Representative of CRS in Nigeria, Dr. Emeka Anoje, said Edo Government has shown that it is a reliable partner in the campaign against malaria through the provision of operational funds to support planning and logistics of the distribution of the LLINs.