By Sani Surajo Abubakar
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), malaria is a disease caused by parasites that spread to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes. People who have malaria, usually feel very sick with high fever and shaking chills.
As fever may mean a symptom of many ailments, most of the time malaria comes with; fever, chills, general feeling of discomfort, headache, diarrhoea, abdominal pain, muscle or joint pain, fatigue, rapid breathing, rapid heart rate, and cough as symptoms that may begin few weeks after infection.
WHO 2023 World Malaria Report identifies Malaria as one of the most severe public health problems worldwide. It is a leading cause of death and a disease in many developing countries where young children and pregnant women are the most affected.
The report elucidated further that nearly half of the world population lives in the areas at risk of Malaria transmission in 85 countries and territories.
The 2022 WHO malaria report shows that Nigeria has the highest burden of malaria globally, accounting for nearly 27% global burden as it is the major public health concern in the country with an estimated 68 million cases and 194,000 deaths due to the disease in 2021.
On April 25th this year, while addressing a press conference on World Malaria Day, Kano State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf said, ‘In Kano, it’s recorded that malaria is the single most common reason for about 60 per cent of outpatient visits and consultations. It is estimated that in the year 2023 alone, more than 3.2 million hospital visits were due to the menace of malaria which is a preventable disease.
In the year 2023, the outpatient attendance relating to malarial cases was 3,435,750 with total fever cases screened for malaria recorded at 3,247,651, and 2,348,264 confirmed to have malaria. Meanwhile, 448 mortality was recorded. added Commissioner Labaran.
In what seems like an annual scourge, many states in the country, Kano included do experience hundreds of thousands of malaria cases mostly occasioned by the rainy season and aggravated by other factors.
The piece intends to offer some suggestions to avoid the recurrence or reduce to the barest minimum the severity of the annual pandemic given its negative consequence on the socioeconomic well-being of people and the burden of its management on the concerned authority.
First and foremost, governments must intensify awareness campaigns via conventional, social media platforms and any available medium on the need for the public to adopt preventive measures of contracting the disease. This will greatly impact reducing hospital visitations, saout-of– pocket spending and reduce the pressure on health facilities with minimal government commitment to managing the burden.
Secondly, authorities concerned should provide enough testing equipment and drugs, especially in rural areas where there are scarce health facilities. If possible, door-to-door testing and treatment need to be initiated and implemented to assist those in need.
Furthermore, governments at all levels in collaboration with Non-governmental Organizations, philanthropists and donor organizations should provide long-lasting treated mosquito nets (LLTN) and distribute them free to people living in prone areas, especially in rural communities.
Also, to avert or minimize the recurrence of malaria cases, concerted efforts need to be made to clear drainages and make places of work, and residences not harbour stagnant water. By so doing, the breeding of mosquito larvae is avoided.
On the other hand, to complement what governments did, members of the public too need to reciprocate and do their part to achieve the objective of keeping malaria cases at bay and improving healthy living.
One of such things to do is people should be aware and always seek to know malaria symptoms. Even though medical experts have identified many of its symptoms, people should be aware of the common symptoms for early diagnosis and treatment. In this respect test is a very paramount as the Rapid Diagnostic Teste (RDT) is cheaply available for the detection of malaria.
In addition, agencies responsible for refuse evacuation and environmental sanitation in towns and cities should fumigate areas prone to harbour mosquitoes, this will pave the way to having safer habitats convenient for habitation and free from diseases.
Those with symptoms should visit the nearest health facility for diagnosis and treatment. Those diagnosed should adhere to medical procedures and prescriptions and ensure completion of the treatment plan. It is on record that many patients experienced a relapse of malaria by failing to complete the treatment prescribed at the onset of the disease.
People need also to seek medical intervention at an early stage and ensure the procurement of standard medication. At this juncture, it is paramount to make a clarion call to governments to provide free complete malaria treatment to all citizens.
Where residents become recalcitrant in disobeying sanitation rules and regulations, stiffer punishment must be meted out to those who build and dump refuse on waterways and also fail to clean their environments or exhibit attitudes detrimental to healthy environments.
People must also develop the habit of sleeping under mosquito-treated nets (LLTN) always. This has proved to be one of the cheaper, and simple methods of avoiding contracting malaria.
With concerted efforts of all the stakeholders in containing the annual scourge of malaria, surely positive results will be achieved at the end and wipe out or minimize to the barest minimum of the disease and enjoy healthy living by people.
A stitch in tsavessave nine.
Sani is an Assistant Chief Information Officer, at Government House, Kano
