Gyneacologist advocates single dosage of malaria for pregnant women

A Gynecologist with  Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital Bauchi, Dr Aminu Bappah, has advocated for single dosage of malaria drugs to save pregnant  mothers and their babies  of the deadly transmissible diseases.

The gynaecologist stated this in a joint public  lecture organised by Bauchi state Agency for Control of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis /Leprosy and Malaria BACATMA in collaboration with the Evidence for Action E4A to mark the  World Malaria Day Celebration in Bauchi State.

He advocated for a research  on how to provide a single dosage of malaria drugs instead of three dosage, adding that people found it difficult to complete the dosage because of the vulnerability of   side effect on pregnant women.

“Especially,  women  find it difficult to take drugs or complete their  dosage, pregnant woman who suffered from malaria and refused to go for treatment may transmit the malaria to the baby and there is a chance of loss of both the mother and baby”

Dr Bappah said if the single dosage was introduced,  the side effect  would be not be too much on  the pregnant women and enjoined them to go to the hospital whenever they noticed the sign of malaria  adding that malaria was deadly like any other killer  diseases if not properly treated and handle by competent hospitals.

In his remark,  the acting Executive Secretary of  BACATMA, Alhaji Abubakar Usman Misau, said the state government has done so much in the control of malaria in the state adding that  state had distributed 333,400, long lasting insecticides nets LLIN, 1,519,688 dosages, ACT anti malaria drugs, 1, 034,260 RTD kits for malaria diagnosis free to health facilities across the state and trained a large number of health workers,” he said

Abubakar said the state still needed more encouragement and support of the Federal Government to combat the menace of malaria and identify inadequate malaria commodities, poor awareness among others as the challenges militating against fight  on malaria.