WMD: Kaduna State Govt. records 2% reduction in under five mortality — Commissioner

By Stella Kabruk

The Kaduna State Government on Tuesday said it has recorded two per cent reduction in under five mortality rate.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Amina Mohammed-Baloni, said this during a news conference to mark 2023 World Malaria Day with the theme
“Time to Deliver Zero Malaria; Invest, Innovate, Implement.”

Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Adamu Mansir, the commissioner said that the state also achieved 68 per cent
refill rate order for all antimalarial commodities.

According to her, there is also reduction of malaria test positivity rate from 33 per cent (NDHS 2018) to 16 per cent in 2021 (MIS 2021).

She said “we have achieved 68 per cent refill rate order for all antimalarial commodities (DHIS), and a reduction of malaria test positivity
rate from 33 per cent (NDHS 2018) to 16 per cent in 2021 (MIS 2021).”

She disclosed that the state procured anti-malaria commodities through the state health supplies management agency worth about N300 million
as part of goverment’s commitment to the counterpart fund obligation to the State Malaria Elimination Programme.

She added that intersectoral, inter-agency and robust partner collaboration helped in achieving integrated delivery of malaria services in the state.

She explained that “the Ministry of Works has completed the massive clearance of drains in our communities; this is to reduce breeding of
mosquitoes.

“We have also completed the distribution and monitoring of 269,040 ACTs, 260,000 RDTs, 3,333 artesunate injection and 19,450 ITNs
across 1,064 public health facilities, including 29 secondary and tertiary hospitals in the state.

“Also 72.2 per cent of clients who tested positive (RDT or Microscopy) to the parasite received treatment with ACTs in first quarter of 2022.”

She said that the ministry had a robust partnership with international and national donor organisations, “and one of the 13 Global Fund (GF)
supported states in Nigeria for the elimination of malaria.”

The commissioner added that the state government had committed enormous resources to the health sector, saying that “we have, in line with
the Universal Ward Health System, constructed 255 Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs), with one centre per ward, across the 23 local government areas of the state.

She said the 1,064 public health facilities in the state were supported to provide free malaria services to residents but urged the people to
take responsibility for their environmental hygiene, saying “it is the primary prevention measure to control the malaria scourge.”

She also called on traditional leaders to be advocates of correct use of Insecticidal Treated Nets, utilisation of life saving interventions like the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention for children three to 59 months, which would commence in June across the state.

She said “the fight against malaria in the state and country at large is a collective effort. The recent breakthrough in malaria vaccines will complement our existing preventive measures and should be widely accepted by caregivers.”

(NAN)