A  non-governmental organisation, HACEY health, has donated treated mosquito nets, blood sugar and blood measuring machines to internally displaced persons camp (IDP) in Kafanchan, Jama’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The donations were made during a medical outreach by the organisation to mark the World Health Day. The IDPs were also offered free medical services during the outreach.

Speaking with journalists in Kaduna after the event, HACEY health State Coordinator, Jennifer Agbaji, said the world health day, which was celebrated around the globe, provided an opportunity for HACEY health to reach underserved communities.

“We decided to reach out to the IDPs in Kafanchan, Jama’a Local Government Area to create awareness on health issues and offer free medical services. We also donated Blood Sugar testing machine and Blood measuring machine to the IDP as well as treated mosquito nets to pregnant and nursing mothers at the camp. We tested and treated blood pressure and malaria,” she said.

According to her, there are 337 households and 1,952 people at the camp, mainly women and children, most of whom were widowed and orphaned as a result of the attacks in the area, adding that the IDPs were enlightened on the causes and prevention of malaria, hypertension, diabetes which, according to her, are silent killers.

“We spoke to them about some health issues like malaria, diabetes, HIV, hypertension and personal hygiene. We told them that malaria causes malnutrition in children under five years. We educated them about symptoms of malaria and how to prevent malaria. We educated them about hypertension, which is a silent killer and the need to be checking their blood pressures from time to time. We also told them how hypertension can damage the heart and other blood vessels which can lead to stroke, heart attack and dead”, Agbani said.

Source: THISDAY NEWSPAPER

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The term “control” of malaria is distinct from the terms “elimination” or “eradication” of malaria. The term “elimination” refers to the complete removal. “Global elimination” is the term used to describe eradication. Malaria eradication will not be complete until the disease has been eliminated from the natural world.

In light of recent increases in available resources, political will, and commitment, discussions have centered on the possibility of malaria eradication.

Malaria has proven to be extremely difficult to control in Africa, where it has wreaked the greatest havoc. In this case, a number of factors are at play, including an efficient mosquito that transmits the infection, a high prevalence of the deadliest species of the parasite, favorable weather conditions, a lack of health-care infrastructure to address the disease, and high intervention costs that are difficult to bear in low-income countries.

However, the scaling-up of effective, safe, and proven malaria prevention and control interventions made possible by global support and national commitment has demonstrated that when these interventions are used together, the impact of malaria on residents of malaria-endemic countries can be significantly reduced.

The choice of interventions is determined by the level of malaria transmission in the area (e.g., in areas of low transmission level, intermittent preventive treatment for pregnant women [IPTp] is usually not recommended). Among the malaria treatment and prevention interventions that have been identified as effective are the ones listed below. 

• Nets that have been treated with insecticide (ITNs)
• Pregnant women should receive intermittent preventive treatment for malaria (IPTp)
• Infancy is treated with intermittent preventive treatment for malaria (IPTi)
• Spraying residuals in the home (IRS)

Most malaria-endemic countries rely on four interventions to combat the disease: case management (diagnosis and treatment), insecticide-treated nets (ITNs), insecticide-treated bed nets (ITPs), and insecticide-treated netting (IRT).

Other interventions are used on occasions, such as Interventions for larval control and other vector control measures, the administration of large quantities of drugs and the treatment of large numbers of fevers. Apart from that, several companies and organizations are working on the development of a malaria vaccine, but at the moment there is no effective malaria vaccine available in the market.

HACEY has been committed to help eradicate malaria in Nigeria through various health interventions. Visit hacey.org for more information.

Written By:

Michael Adegboye

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Malaria infection during pregnancy can have adverse effects on both mother and child. It increases a child’s vulnerability to other diseases and causes growth and development to be stunted in the short term. It is connected with a significant economic impact, including a direct loss of productive government labor or educational opportunities. An increased incidence of anaemia, spontaneous abortions, premature labor, fetal distress, congenital infections, fetal death in utero, stillbirths, and intrauterine growth restriction has been linked to malaria exposure during pregnancy.

Most often, Pregnant women stand at  higher risk of developing severe and complex malaria than other people. Despite the availability of effective therapies, malaria remains a serious public health problem, and it is responsible for a significant proportion of childhood and maternal death. This is because children have undeveloped and weaker immune systems.

Pregnant women who, because of poverty or a lack of education, do not seek antenatal care and do not have access to preventive malaria treatment may have issues when the disease progressed to an advanced stage. This may result in abortion, stillbirth, early delivery, low birth weight kids, or a high rate of mortality in pregnant women as a result of the situation.

For pregnant women in areas of stable transmission of malaria, World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended a three-pronged approach to controlling and combating malaria. They include; intermittent preventive treatment (IPT) of asymptomatic pregnant women, the use of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs), as well as prompt and effective case management of malaria.

It is critical for pregnant women to avoid malaria during their pregnancy in order to avoid serious consequences. Pregnant women are delicate, and maintaining their health is essential.

For more information regarding Maternal health visit our website, at hacey.org.

Written By:

Michael Adegboye

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