As part of its comprehensive effort to control malaria across Nigeria,
the United States has handed 3.85 million long lasting insecticide
treated mosquito nets to Bauchi state.
A statement yesterday from the Public Affairs Section, United States
Diplomatic Mission to Nigeria, stated that the nets were handed over
to the state health officials at a ceremony held November 29.
The statement said the donation was made possible through the U.S.
President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and jointly implemented by the
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The handover ceremony marked the start of a five-day distribution of
bed nets valued at $7.7 million across all local government areas in
the state.
Accordibg to the statement, the U.S. government also provided an
additional $2 million for logistics, transportation and community
mobilization –a total contribution of $9.7 million.
It stated that the Bauchi government provided the storage facility and
led the planning, coordination, and distribution effort.
“In our partnership to fight malaria, I would like to appeal to and
encourage the good people of Bauchi to sleep under a treated bed net
every night and roll it up during the day to protect the net from
damage,” said Dr. Mark Maire, PMI Resident Malaria Advisor in Nigeria.
“With proper care, these bed nets can last for three years or more.”
The statement further said that “Sleeping under an insecticide-treated
bed net every night has turned out to be the best way to prevent
malaria. The nets put a vital barrier between people and the
mosquitoes that carry malaria, particularly from dusk to dawn.
