Following reported outbreak of malaria, which has resulted in the death of five persons within a month in Sokoto town, the state government has announced plans to administer 3.6 million doses of anti-malaria drugs to the people of the state in the next four weeks.
The state government said that the required number of doses of the drugs had already been procured and kept at various medical stores across the state.
Speaking when he led a delegation of officials round selected health facilities in the state capital, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Balarabe Shehu Kakale, said that the drugs would be administered in four phases with 900,000 doses given during each round.
Kakale said adequate arrangements had been made for a smooth exercise and appealed to the residents to support government’s efforts to rid the state of malaria.
He said, “As you are aware, we recently undertook massive fumigation of mosquitoes’ breeding areas across the state. We recorded successes in that front but we are appealing to people to help us by keeping their environment clean.
“In close collaboration with other ministries, we are working to deploy sanitary inspectors that will move to the nooks and crannies of the state to ensure compliance with environmental laws. This will help our efforts in ensuring all areas are kept clean, thereby mitigating the effects of the deadly disease.”
The commissioner added that the state government had conducted sensitisation exercise at various health facilities to enlighten residents on the need to adopt preventive measures while tackling diseases such as malaria.
Meanwhile, the state government has sent a delegation to condole with families of the five persons who lost their lives due to malaria-related ailment in Sokoto town.
The team was led by the Secretary to the State Government, Professor Bashir Garba.
