The Enugu State Malaria Programme says the state has not distributed mosquito nets to residents of the state as a way of controlling malaria since 2015.
The Programme Manager and Coordinator, Dr Ifeoma Otiji, disclosed this during the Malaria Technical Working Group (TWG) and World Malaria Day Planning Meeting held at Enugu on Friday.
The stakeholders at the meeting included Civil Society Organisations on Malaria, Media, partners, representatives of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), State ministries of Agriculture, Health and Environment, the State House Committee on Health and many others.
Otiji noted that the state was booming in 2015 when it was enjoying support from donor agencies in terms of the distribution of mosquito nets which she said was the gold standard for Malaria prevention.
She regretted that after that, the state had not distributed any mosquito nets to control the vector.
Otiji added that there were no partners currently except the World Health Organisation (WHO) which offered little support to them.
According to her, the state has become an orphan in malaria support since the departure of the donor agencies, adding that malaria kills more children under the age of five and pregnant women.
She disclosed that the Enugu had a malaria prevalence of 10. 5 per cent in 2015, 17 per cent in 2018 but increased to 24 per cent in 2021.
Otiji further said that when there was support, pregnant women and children would not pay for certain antimalaria commodities, stressing that they bought them now at subsidized prices from the state health centres.
She also decried the delay in Immunization Plus and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Coverage and Transforming Services (IMPACT) project which the state had paid its counterpart fund to address the issue of malaria in the state.
Speaking on the meeting, Otiji said it was the first meeting of TWG since their inauguration in December 2023, adding that it would offer them the opportunity to plan for 2024 World Malaria Day.
“To me, the meeting is a big milestone in malaria programmes in the state as it borders on collaborations and partnerships which TWG is all about. It will move malaria programmes in Enugu forward.
“Our stakeholders will be bringing up ideas beyond World Malaria Day celebration,” she said.
NAN
