Date: 2017-04-27

A Non Governmental Organization, The Health Builders Initiative has called on Nigerians to maintain personal hygiene and avoid water stagnation in their areas to prevent malaria disease.

The Media Director of the Non Governmental Organization, Doctor Kehinde Khadijat Kadiri and the Media Officer, Mr. Mahmood Olayinka Alaya gave the advice in a statement issued to journalists in Ilorin, the kwara state capital as part of activities marking the World Malaria Day.

The statement appealed to pregnant women and children within the age of zero to five to sleep under treated long lasting insecticide nets.

It also called on the three tiers of government, international donors and various humanitarian organizations to scale up more support for malaria eradication through improved funding to eradicate the disease in the country.

The statement stressed the need for all primary health care centres across the country to function properly, pointing out that the prevalence of the disease is more common at the rural areas due to the exposure of the rural dwellers to the causes of malaria disease.

According to the statement, " Nigerians must ensure proper environmental sanitation to curb the scourge of malaria disease. They should also avoid water stagnation which provides a veritable breeding environment for mosquitoes.

" Clearing of environmental bushes, the use of insecticide treated bed nets for sleeping and taking preventive malaria drugs are also crucial to tame malaria in our society".

The Health Builders Initiative explained that the Organization would carry out health outreach for people of Ago-Oja community in Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State which involves dissemination of health information on malaria through health talk.

It added that free malaria screening would be conducted for people of the community using Rapid Diagnosis Test, while treated long lasting insecticide nets would also be distributed.