Kebbi State Deputy Governor, Senator Umar Abubakar, has described malaria as a major public health problem which can be life-threatening.
While flagging -off the campaign in Argungu for the 2023 Seasonal Malaria Chemo-prevention Campaign (SMC), Senator Abubakar said, the campaign was to eliminate malaria disease and reduce mortality rates among under five children in the state.
He said, malaria as has been devastating to people especially among children of three to fifty nine months who are the focus of this campaign.
According to him, the present administration of in the state is collaborating with international agencies to support the need for strong health system to address the gaps in accessing healthcare services particularly in communities of the state.
The Deputy Governor said, the government was delighted that Kebbi State and indeed Nigeria are making efforts to be a global example in implementing the Seasonal Malaria Chemo Prevention (SMC) Campaign.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health, Dr. Shehu Nuhu Koko represented by the Executive Secretary State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr. Muhammad Augie, explained that, over 1.3 million under 5 children were reached in 2022 with a target of 1.4 million children in 2023.
In their goodwill messages, the representative of the Malaria Consortium, Faruk Na-Malam and World Health Organisation, Dr. Emanuel Eyitayo, said the programme was aimed at reducing the rates of mortality among under 5 children.
Abdullahi Tukur
