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Power Supply, Key to Malaria Prevention

Malaria is transmitted by mosquito, a tiny blood sucking, desperate and noisy insect. Malaria is the number one killer of children in Nigeria and a major cause of weakness and fewer in adults. Malaria is traced to poor performance in the work force and low productivity in the economy.
Efforts by researchers in Nigerian universities and drug manufacturers have not yielded appreciable result in the prevention and treatment of malaria. The national rate of malaria infection is still very high. Malaria control still remains a challenge in Africa where 45 countries, including Nigeria, are endemic for malaria, and about 588 million people are at risk  -- WHO, World Malaria Report 2008.
Nigeria is visibly at the forefront of global efforts aimed at eradicating this deadly disease. The recent disbandment by the federal government of chloroquine for the treatment of malaria and introducing in it’s place, artesunate, artemisinin, artemether and lumefantrin as substitutes, is a major research effort by Nigeria scientists.
As we make new findings and inventions, we should not ignore alternative preventive methods. The campaign for the use of mosquito treated nets is not gaining wide spread acceptance particularly in the urban cities. There are not very many homes that use mosquito treated nets. Most urban dwellers prefer closing their windows, particularly at night and keeping their air-conditioning system or electric fans on through the night to keep mosquitoes away. This is a very effective method of preventing malaria infection, because the breeze from the air-conditioning system or electric fan prevents mosquitoes from perching.
This method is cheap and bio-friendly, but requires constant supply of electricity to work. It becomes expensive if power is provided by an individual through power generating sets. Therefore, it is imperative that the federal government ensures the provision of power supply.
I am therefore calling on the World Health Organization, Unicef and all other local and international agencies in the forefront of efforts toward the eradicating malaria in African to increase pressure on the federal government of Nigeria to hasten efforts towards improving electricity supply.

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