I wanted to write again on the throbbing conflict between government and the Shi’ites last week, but a bout of malaria, which knocked me down thwarted the plan. Like a venomous snake left in the roof, the Shi’ites matter would continue to generate concern. As the group’s recalcitrance and its members’ bloody clash with security agencies is now an almost regular occurrence, just as government appears unrelenting in the determination to suffocate the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), the Shi’ites umbrella organization in the country, there will always be opportunities for comments.
Today’s focus is malaria. I was still tending to the ailment when I got an invitation for a meeting to discuss malaria. The invite came from the Society for family Health (SFH), a non-governmental organization working on malaria eradication. The meeting held last Thursday dwelt on malaria prevention, control and eradication in Nigeria.
Having just been a victim of malaria, several questions were on my mind.
Why is malaria still a big issue when we should be able to get rid of the ubiquitous mosquitoes that transmit the disease? Is Nigeria losing the war against mosquitoes? How long more will it take for our nation to be malaria free? Why did I have to swallow 24 Arthemether Lumenfantrine tablets to fight my malaria? Years back, I needed only three tablets for a malaria bout and I was back on my feet again.
So much was learnt from the resource persons. Malaria is still a big problem.
I  thought I knew so much about mosquitoes, but Dr Godwin Ntadom deepened my knowledge. I knew that only the female Anopheles mosquito bite results in malaria, but I learnt that the poor insect just needed some human blood to aid in its production of eggs. If in the process it sucks from a person whose blood is already contaminated with malaria parasite and it moves on to bite another person who is not infected, the parasite is then transmitted to the second person. Therefore, it’s not every mosquito bite that results in malaria infection. It’s possible the mosquito bites and you are still safe from malaria, if the same mosquito had not bitten someone with malaria before you. And you don’t contract malaria, if a mosquito doesn’t bite you.
I also learnt that mosquitoes can fly as long as five kilometers aided by the wind, in their blood sucking bid.
Isn’t it interesting to learn that mosquitoes like some people more than others? While the insect may be humming around you looking for an opportunity to suck your blood, it may be avoiding the person next to you. Mosquitoes particularly love to bite people who wear dark colours; those who have Type O blood more than Type A and B; and anyone who radiates heat or is sweating. They also love you when you have just taken more beer. Mosquitoes also love pregnant women and babies.
And so in Nigeria the worry is that with their love for pregnant mothers and children, the insidious insects spread more malaria to these categories of our people and get many of them killed. In this country, malaria is still a leading cause of death among children under age five.
National Coordinator, National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), Dr. Audu Bala Mohammed estimated the number of Nigerian children killed every 60 minutes at 30. Thirty Nigerian children dying of malaria every minute? Isn’t that  scary?
He added that pregnant women also suffer the scourge through poor pregnancy outcomes, such as anaemia, miscarriages and low birth weight children.
Dr. Ernest Nwokolo, Director, Global Fund Malaria Project, however, said malaria remains endemic because many Nigerians treat the ailment as a family member. They encourage mosquitoes to breed and populate their environment.
Increased malaria prevention and control measures are reducing the malaria burden across the world. The measures ensured that malaria deaths reduced significantly from 985,000 in 2000 to 438,000 last year. In Africa, the burden of malaria is still heavy and unfortunately Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo alone share about 41 percent of Africa’s burden.
Research findings also indicate that people of the North-west, North-central  and North-east have a higher prevalence of malaria than other zones of the country.
But it’s also interesting to learn that malaria has reduced to 1 percent in Lagos, while it’s no longer a big issue in South-south states like Delta and Bayelsa. The South-east  is more successful in the elimination of malaria from our shores.
Besides the loss of lives, it’s estimated that up to N420 billion is lost to malaria in Nigeria annually. Money is lost through government expenditure in treating victims. There is also loss of earnings through absence from workplace and businesses as well as reduced productivity.
One of the challenges identified in the slow elimination process of malaria in the country is the fact that government relies solely on donor agencies such as the SFH to fight the scourge.
While the government is not doing as much as necessary to rid the nation of malaria, citizens are more guilty of complacency.
One of the strategies to eliminate malaria is through the use of mosquito nets. But how many of us sleep under mosquito nets? Some of our people even use the nets sourced from donor agencies for gardening and fishing! It will help if all of us now begin to sleep under insecticide treated mosquito nets every night.
Many Nigerians also easily conclude that when they have fevers, it must be malaria. So, they embark on treatment without testing. The most effective way to get rid of malaria is to use the Rapid Diagnostic Testing (RDT) kit which is quick and reliable. It is available in all government and private hospitals. So, before you treat malaria, you must first be sure  you’re suffering from  malaria.
I have also learnt that the era of a single drug for treatment of malaria is gone because malaria parasite has developed resistance to the drug. What the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends is the use of a drug combination –artemisin or its derivative and one or more other active ingredients.
That explains why I got the 24- tablet treatment  from my doctor. Don’t doubt its efficacy. I’m a proof. You only need to patiently and religiously take the dosage as prescribed. You’re sure to be okay in the end.
My take away from the SFH meeting is that the war against malaria is easier fought and won if taken more seriously by all of us. It’s possible to still retain mosquitoes as your friends and donate blood for the anopheles egg production, but we have a communal duty to stop the spread of malaria parasite, which your friends help to transmit and cause than to lose more lives and money in this recession or is it depression.

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