Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has inaugurated a mass house-to-house malaria prevention programme with a pledge to administer free drugs to one million children in Sokoto State.
Speaking at the event, which held in the state capital on Wednesday, Tambuwal said government had resolved to renew its push against the dreaded disease, and would deploy religious and traditional institutions to achieve set target.
He said state government, in collaboration with the Presidential Malaria Initiative and other partners, is providing three million units of mosquito nets and Seasonal Malaria Chematherapy drugs to be distributed free of charge in all parts of the state.
The governor said, “We are spending N300million on training of personnel, provision of logistics, vehicles, fumigation and sanitation to combat the causative factor of the disease.
“Already, the state government has redeemed all its pledges of counterpart funding in a bid to support supervision, social mobilisation and distribution of drugs to all benefiting health facilities across Sokoto State.”
In his remarks, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Malaria Elimination and Control, Abubakar Chika Umar, said government and its partners would distribute SMC drugs free to all children between 3 to 59 months in all the 23 Local Government Areas of the state.
“The circle will last for four days at an interval of one month for three months. This push will be supported by 500 health facilities in the state,” he said.
Umar added that there were plans to establish fully functional malaria elimination units in all the local government areas in the state.
Governor Tambuwal also distributed motorcycles to be used by roll back malaria officials posted to rural communities in Sokoto for effective administration of the drugs and other preventive measures.
