Bauchi govt to distribute 4.4 million Insecticide Treated Nets (ITN) to every household
By Suzan Edeh
The Bauchi state government through the Bauchi State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis/Leprosy and Malaria in collaboration with National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), United States Government President Malaria Initiative (PMI-US) and Against Malaria Foundation (AMF) is implementing a campaign to distribute 4.4 million Insecticide Treated Nets (ITN) to every household in Bauchi state.
Our correspondent reports that the distribution of the free nets will commence from 21st- 27th June 2023.A representative of each household is expected to go to the distribution point written on their net cards to collect free nets.
The chairman of the agency, Dr. Sani Mohammed Danbam stated this on Thursday during a one day Media Parley on ITN distribution campaign in Bauchi held at the BACATMA office in Bauchi.
According to him, the agency is using the technology to register the card issuance as well as the issuance of the ITNs, adding that before the issuance of the ITNS, the agency will scan the electronic generated cards in order for it to be on record that the ITNs has been received by the beneficiaries.
He said that in the case where someone lost his card or washed it off, it cannot be captured by the computer which means that the person cannot receive the net.
“The ITN distribution campaign is going to be technologically driven, although technology has its advantages and disadvantages, so we need to educate the public on this development so that we can consolidate on the previous gains.For example, in the past, the distribution was paper-based where the card issuance was manual,” he said.
In his presentation at the Media Parley, the Director Malaria Control (BACATMA), Abubakar Musa Usman stated that over 200 million ITNs have been distributed in Nigeria, adding that ITN mass distribution is done every 3-4 years in each state because of the life span of the nets and also to maintain universal coverage.
He said that with the prevalence of malaria in Bauchi state being 32% and with almost 44% of children under 5, having fever, ITN effectiveness for malaria control and when properly implemented will contribute remarkably to the reduction of malaria prevalence in the country.