Malaria Prevention: Oyo Government to Partner with US Government to Distribute Over 5 Million Nets Across the State

In a concerted effort to reduce malaria by at least 90% by 2030, Oyo State Government has expressed its readiness to partner with the US Government through the Global Health Supply Chain to distribute over 5 million insecticide-treated nets to households across the State to prevent malaria.

The State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi made this known in her office while receiving the US GHSC Team. She noted that malaria is a global disease and it is also a life-threatening disease with estimated annual cases between 300-500 million cases. Therefore the support from the US Government to distribute insecticide-treated nets across homes in the State is a welcome development, adding that this will go a long way toward the global target of eradicating malaria by 2030.

The net distribution campaign, which is a project under the Presidential Malaria Intiative (PMI) office, funded by the US Government to manage malaria across the Country, is set to distribute the insecticide treated nets across the State, as a way of contributing their own quota to the eradication of malaria disease in Oyo State

Dr. Ajetunmobi reiterated that one of the pillars of Omituntun 2.0 is proper healthcare delivery to all across the State, therefore the present administration is always ready to support Health partners to achieve the desired result in the healthcare system.

She therefore promised that the Ministry would do all within its capacity as regards the micro planning involved in the distribution of the insecticide-treated nets, such as the warehousing, funding of the distribution process, the human resources needed for the distribution of the nets and so on, so as to ensure that the distribution is smoothly carried out without any glitches and the end would also justify the means.

The Permanent Secretary, SMOH, Dr. Akintunde Ayinde who expressed delight at the gesture by the US GHSC, Presidential Malaria Initiative (PMI), noted that although it is not the first of its kind, however this is the biggest so far in the series of net campaign in the State. He therefore assured the team of the Ministry’s maximum cooperation and adequate preparation ahead of the distribution so as to have better results than the previous ones.

The Acting Director of Malaria Programme for GHSC PMI Pharm. Oludayo Adekunle, expressed the gratitude of the Presidential Malaria Initiative as a project, for the privilege to Work with Oyo State through the Net Campaign. He noted that the net distribution is done almost every four years to be sure of its efficacy in each home.

Pharm. Oludayo added that Oyo State has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the US Government investment in terms of the malaria eradication programme, this is because Oyo State Government has been doing so much to prevent malaria in the State.

He noted that the net distribution campaign will commence in the first quarter of the year 2025, urging for a smooth collaboration with the Ministry as regards the effective distribution of the nets to ensure it gets to the appropriate households across the State.

Present at the meeting were the Director of Planning, Research, and Statistics, Dr. Gbolahan Abass; the Director of Secondary Health Care and Training, Dr. Adekunle Aremu; the Director of Pharmaceutical Services, Pharmacist Moses Adewole; the State Malaria Implementation Officer, Mrs. Foluke Adeyemo and others.