By Chioma Andy
Rivers State
Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tammunoiyoriari Parker, has commended the efforts
of Society for Family Health (SFH) on their largesse of providing 24 Microscope
and other accessories to the Malaria Control Unit of the State Ministry of
Health to aid in fighting the menace of malaria in the State.
Dr. Parker when
welcoming the SFH representatives to his office on Tuesday 29 January 2013,
said that, “Malaria has killed and is killing more children in the third World
and Africa more than all the wars in the continent put together.’’
According
to him, the State is running a malaria elimination programme through Bio-larviciding
(the process of killing the larva of a mosquito before it grows into mosquito),
with an integrated approach like the indoor residual spraying, procurement of
Act drugs, insecticide treated bed nets and community mobilisation.
The
Commissioner stated that the microscopes will help in diagnosis, pointing out
that one of the major challenges faced in the quest to eradicate malaria is in
diagnosis.
‘‘The
presentation of microscopes to the malaria unit is appropriate because
diagnosis is key in the control and elimination of malaria,’’ he said.
He
mentioned Filariasis, Yellow fever and Dengue fever as some of the diseases
that are similar to malaria in presentation caused by mosquitoes.
The
representative of SFH, Mr. Ben Ofudge in his speech, said that the body is a non
profit making organization working on reproductive health, maternal and child
health, child spacing and family planning, safe water and malaria programmes.
Ofudge
said that the move of providing the microscopes was in collaboration with the
Federal Ministry of Health through the Global Fund for Malaria Programme.
He mentioned that it
was meant to provide additional support because malaria burden was getting
higher across the country.
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