The United States government, through the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), has donated 3.2 million bed nets to the government of Zamfara State, northwest Nigeria, to boost the fight against malaria.

The PMI programme is jointly implemented by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Nigerian government.

Development Diaries gathered that USAID’s Senior Malaria Advisor, Dr Jose Tchofa, during the handover ceremony, said, ‘Malaria is the leading killer of children in Nigeria and brings illness and loss of productivity to too many families.

‘If we all work together to protect ourselves from being bitten by sleeping under a bed net every night, we can control malaria for the good health of everyone in Zamfara and across Nigeria’.

Representing the Zamfara State Governor, Muhammad Bello, his deputy, Mahdi Aliyu Gusau said, ‘Malaria infection still poses a great threat to the social and economic well-being of the population of Zamfara State.

‘We must, therefore, do everything possible to safeguard our people, particularly the vulnerable group of women and children with the help of stakeholders including the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative’.

The total value of the contribution is understood to stand at almost $12 million, which also covers funding for transportation and community mobilisation.

Tchofa added that over five million residents of the state stand to benefit from the exercise, with a minimum of one net per two persons within a household.

Bed nets are a vital barrier between people and malarial mosquitoes, proving to be one effective way to prevent malaria.

Malaria prevention and control, according to the U.S., is the country’s major foreign assistance objective, and PMI’s strategy aligns with the U.S. government’s vision of ending preventable child and maternal deaths and ending extreme poverty.

Source: U.S. Embassy in Nigeria

Photo source: U.S. Embassy in Nigeria