By Onomiguren Agbamu
A Non- Governmental Organisations, known as National Malaria Elimination Programme,(NMEP), Catholic Relief Service, (CSR), and Society for Family Health, (SFH) in collaboration with Delta State Ministry of health is set to distribute over three Hundred Million Insecticide Treated Nets across Delta State.
This was disclosed in an advocacy brief, during a one-day orientation programme, and for the commencement of the 2025 Insecticide Treated Nets,(ITNs) campaigns for media personnel at the state Secretariat, Asaba.
Speaking at the orientation programme,the permanent secretary, Delta State Ministry of Health, Dr.( Mrs) Philomena Okeowo said, the role of the media cannot be ignored in the campaign for malaria elimination.
Dr. Okeowo urges the media personnel at the programme to preach and tell every Deltans what the ministry of health in collaborations with the National Malaria Elimination Programme,( NMEP), Catholic Relief Service,(CRS) and Society for Family Health,(SFH) are doing in the state.
According to her; ” you will be one to tell and preach to Deltans what we are doing and how we are going about it. We cannot take the role of the media in this campaign against malaria for granted”
Reeling out the objectives of the malaria campaign during her lecture, the Programme Manager for Malaria, Delta State, Dr. (Mrs.) Julie Aniah hinted that the campaign will provide opportunities for practicing journalists to gain insight into the ITNs, reorient journalists in malaria prevention and control with special focus on the use of ITNs and for journalists to join in the national crusade for a malaria free Nigeria.
Dr. Aniah also highlighted none adherence to recruitment criteria, political interference at the state and local government level as a major challenge that hinder the campaign against malaria.
In his lecture, the Director for campaign, ITNs mass distribution in Delta state, Mr. Daniel Gbue noted that the malaria campaign is expected to get to every Community member, stressing that every household at least get one ITNs during the campaign and as well know the benefits in consistently and correctly sleeping inside the ITNs.
Mr. Daniel also maintained that sleeping inside the treated nets protects us from mosquito bites that spread malaria, and that it guarantees sound sleeping undisputed by mosquitos
In her goodwill message, the representative of the National Malaria Elimination Programme, Federal Ministry of health, Mrs. Joke Oadare called for the support of the media to achieving the desired results of the campaign against malaria in Nigeria.
She said; “at the national level, we are still soliciting for your support to work as a team in this 2025 ITNs distributions in Delta state because in togetherness we will win”
” Tell them the modalities of the distributions, we are not distributing to Hospital, Schools, and Markets, but it is strictly household distributions”
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