The Federal Ministry of Health has rated Anambra state as the second lowest malaria prevalence in Nigeria.
The Anambra State Commissioner for Health, Dr Afam Ben Obidike, disclosed this to journalists at his office in Awka on Friday while debunking a publication making the rounds that the state Government is not doing enough to bring malaria scourge to a standstill.
Obidike urged the general public to disregard the information, noting that as it stands, the state has the second lowest malaria prevalence in the country as per the latest national malaria survey carried out by the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja while Lagos State emerged the first.
He appealed to Journalists to always balance their script before pushing it out for public consumption, quarreling that it is unethical for a media practitioner to publish such a report without proper verification and balancing.
Tribune Online gathered that the Commissioner was reacting to an interview granted to some Journalists in Awka, on Thursday by Professor Dennis Aribodor, a Professor of Public Health Parasitology at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, saying that Anambra Government and some other state governments in Nigeria are not doing enough to bringing malaria scourge to a standstill.
According to Aribodor, the nature of the budget for malaria control and prevention across the states and the federation emphasizing that malaria is one big disease that can be eliminated in the country, if there is political will to do so.
He said some countries of the world like Algeria, Cape Verde, Mauritius, China, Palestine and some other nations have eliminated malaria epidemic with steadfast political will but the reverse, according to him, is the case in Nigeria and Anambra in particular.
Obidike, in his swift reaction, described the news as fake, optimistic that the present administration of Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo within a space of two years in office, has upgraded the Health sector to International best standard via employment of over 5,000 qualified and certified Medical Doctors/Nurses across Health facilities in the state.
According to him, Governor Soludo’s two years in the office is quite eventful and worthy of commendation in view of his giant strides in all sectors.
“The governor’s exceptional performance has entrenched quality service delivery on all spheres of governance, especially in the Health Sector and brought dividends of democracy to all the nook and crannies of Anambra State.
Obidike went down memory lane, x-raying the governor’s exploits since inception of his administration and came to the conclusion that much has been achieved within just two years in the office especially in Health, road development, education and environment as well as youth empowerment and human capacity building.
“Within two years in office, we have had several free Healthy Living empowerment programmes of the governor’s wife, Mrs Nonye Soludo (Healthy Living with Nonye Soludo Initiative), free Antenatal services, where about 6,000 children were deliver free of charge at the state-own hospitals with only one mortality recorded, free treatment of malaria for pregnant women/children, free telemedicine services and the free distribution of mosquito nets to nursing mothers across the 179 communities in the state.
“Governor Soludo has equally approved the establishment of the School of Nursing, to be located at Ekwulobia community, in Aguata Local Government Area of the State. He has also, in line with his campaign promises, said that he will build modern General Hospitals in all the 21 Local Government Areas and Primary Healthcare Centres across the 326 political wards in the state, all to provide quality healthcare services to the people.
“So, it is dishearten for someone like Professor Dennis Aribodor, a professor of Public Health Parasitology, to misinformed Ndi-Anambra that the State Government is not doing enough to bringing malaria scourge to a standstill, when the State has already been rated the second lowest malaria prevalence in the country by the Federal Ministry of Health Abuja.”
The Commissioner urged residents in the state to disregard the Aribodor’s message and continue to support the governor in order to actualize his vision of making Anambra a digitalized, smart, livable and prosperous state in Nigeria.
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