State government in collaboration with the Malaria Consortium has provided 285, 657 children, aged 3 to 59 months, with medicines for malaria prevention between June and October in its seasonal malaria prevention intervention that targets children at peak periods of malaria transmission in the state.
The National Malaria Strategic plan indicates that seasonal malaria transmission peaks during the rainy season in 6 local government areas in the state. These are Saki East, Saki West, Olorunsogo, Irepo, Surulere and Ogbomosho North, all local governments situated in the Sahel belt.
Speaking at the Oyo State Ministry of Health Seasonal Malaria Chemoprophylaxis End of Round 2022 State dissemination meeting in Oyo town, Malaria Consortium Oyo state Programme Manager, Mrs Taiwo Olarinde said the children had been treated with 1,571,322 blisters of two antimalarial medicines (sulfadoxine/pyrimethamine and amodiaquine) across five cycles.
Mrs Olarinde declared that children between 3 and 59 months, not ill, not on any other sulphur-containing medications or have an allergy to chemical contents of the malaria medicines, and who had not taken take these drugs also in the last month are the only ones legible for the intervention.
According to her, the children were given the first dose of the medicines under direct observation of the caregiver and supervision of community drug distributors who move from house to house during the exercise in the six designated local government areas.
She declared “In the last completed rounds that span June to October, a month is a cycle, the state achieved administration coverage of 102.7 per cent. Essentially, the state did well being the first time it is implementing the seasonal malaria prevention intervention. As we are positioned to further support the state in round 2, we know that the outcome will be better.
“Through the intervention, we are able to reduce malaria mortality and morbidity in children, even the health workers testify to it that within the period of distributing the malaria prophylactic medicines, the incidence of malaria in children between 3 months and 59 months really reduced. Studies have shown that such children have a 70 per cent likelihood of not having malaria in a year.”
Executive Secretary of Oyo State Primary Health care Board, Dr Muideen Olatunji in a reaction to the malaria intervention stated that the monetary value of the intervention for mothers that before might visit hospitals 3 to 4 times in a year with children down with malaria is unquantifiable.
He asked that the intervention be extended to all local government areas in the state in support of a reduction in malaria cases in the state and assured of logistic support for the intervention, particularly in hard-to-reach communities in the state.
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