Residents of communities spread across Kpantisawa, the administrative headquarters of Yorro local government council of Taraba state as well as the neighbouring council of Zing, could not hide their joy when trucks loaded with insecticide-treated nets began to arrive at their administrative headquarters on the first day of September 2022.
The nets which were observed to have been moved from Jalingo, the state capital to the two aforementioned council’s headquarters in preparations for distribution, were also noticed to have as well been taken to other neighboring councils which include, Ardo-Kola, Karim-Lamido, and Lau.
The process as gathered by our state correspondent who monitored the movement of the nets was said to have been made possible by the State government in collaboration with the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) with funding support from Global Fund Malaria Project.
Elated by the development, the people who bared their minds to our correspondent, said they can no longer wait to receive their shares of the nets which distribution is slated to commence in the next few days.
Vowing to jealously protect the nets from being tampered with at the council headquarters, the residents assured our correspondent of their readiness to escort the ITNs to the distribution hubs across the councils.
The people who are optimistic that they will all benefit immensely from the nets as soon as the distribution commences said the nets “will definitely address one of our major challenges in our various communities” which according to them is “malaria”.
Citing the numbers of persons that are presently on admission in health facilities spread across the councils, as a result of malaria, AJarat Suleiman, told our correspondent that, with the arrival of the nets “to this local government, I see the issue of malaria that has been our major sickness disappearing.”
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Also elated by the movement of the nets to the councils, one of the palace guards of the Kpanti Zing, in Zing local government council, said “my dreams and that of my family sleeping inside mosquito nets, is gradually becoming a reality.”
The palace guard who spoke through an interpreter vowed to judiciously observe all the dos and don’ts that will eventually accompany the use of the net “as soon as they start the distributions.”
Over 2 million people spread across the nooks and crannies of the state, as made known by the leadership of CRS, have been earmarked to benefit from the nets which as of the time of filing this report, are already in the state for onward distribution.
It would be recalled that during a media parley, the Malaria campaign manager, Orezi Adhekojibo, said the distribution of the nets will be done “on a door-to-door basis across all the sixteen local government councils of the state.”
Stressing on the objectives of the ITN ongoing mass campaign in the state, which was made known by her “is to ensure that for every two persons in the state, there is one-bed net to sleep inside.”
She said the nets would go a long way in reducing the malaria burden on the state.
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