Pictures by @BenoistC
Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation. What may be less well-known is that the country’s 158 million people carry a disproportionate 25 per cent of sub-Saharan Africa’s entire burden of malaria. We will not have beaten malaria until and unless it is beaten in Nigeria.
The government of Nigeria and partners are striving to reduce the number of cases and deaths from malaria by 75% by 2015 in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The Ministry of Health’s National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) in Nigeria is now stressing the importance of universal coverage of persons of all ages (100% of persons using an LLIN every night) as advocated by the World Health Organization (WHO) to achieve the disease-reduction goals.
In Cross River State, the distribution of 1,159,061 long-lasting insecticide-treated nets (LLINs) offers hope and contributes to the national effort to curve the effects of this killer disease.
Just over 3,000 community-based volunteers from the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) were trained to conduct a door-to-door distribution and hang-up campaign of long-lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) in order to reach universal coverage in Cross River State. The volunteers were also trained on how to convey key messages about net use and maintenance.
During the door-to-door LLIN distribution and hang-up campaign in January – June 2011, Red Cross volunteers provided LLINs to each household based on criteria collected during a household registration and adjusted for available space in the household to hang additional LLINs. A maximum of 4 LLINs were distributed and hung per household.
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