World Malaria Day: Medical consultant harps on personal hygiene

Dr Habiba Suleiman, the Medical Consultant, Onyi Bala Foundation (OBF), has advised Nigerians to always maintain personal hygiene to prevent malaria infection.

Suleiman gave the advice at the distribution of 200 free mosquito treated nets to pregnant women and nursing mothers by OBF at Damagaza community, located in the FCT, on Thursday.

The donation of the items was part of OBF’s medical outreach to commemorate this year’s World Malaria Day (WMD) on the theme “Zero Malaria starts with me”.

According to her, the outreach is apt, in terms of eradicating malaria, not just in Abuja but Nigeria at large.

Suleiman said: “The turnout for this programme was much; we carried out free screening and testing for malaria and found out most people had malaria, especially pregnant women.

“After the test was conducted we made sure that we gave anti-malaria drugs to them; we also administered mosquito treated nets to them and taught them to prevent themselves from malaria.

“By making sure that they stay in a clean environment; they should avoid keeping things in hidden places at home and also make sure that their gutters are clean.

“They must make sure that their bushes are cut and that they do not stay out too long at night.

“By six o’clock they should be at home for them to prevent malaria, they should maintain personal hygiene.”

Speaking, the Executive Director of OBF, Mrs Ummulkhair Hamzat, reaffirmed the commitment of the organisation to promote fights against malaria in the FCT.

She said that the distribution of the mosquito treated nets and malaria drugs were the organisations way to empower pregnant women and mothers, to promote their healthy living.

Hamzat said: “We are here in this community to empower them with mosquito treated nets testing kits and free malaria drugs, to achieve our desired goals.

“Our organisation is committed to empower everyone in this community with the items, to ensure that they are free from malaria.”

The Co-founder of OBF, Mrs Amina Lawal, said that the donation had become imperative to stem fights against malaria within the community.

According to her, we chose to come to this community to help them; actually we brought our medical personnel here to help them identify those with malaria.

“To also see how we can treat those having malaria; the disease is something that we have been fighting.

“It is something in Nigeria that we have been seeing how we can bring to the barest minimum; it is our little way of impacting positively on our society,” Lawal said.

Some of the beneficiaries thanked the organisation for the gesture and promised to adhere to their instructions to achieve the desired goals.

Mrs Uchenna Lovelyn, a beneficiary, commended the organisation for the gesture, saying that no money was collected for the medical services been rendered to them.

“I thank them for giving us free medication and free mosquito nets; I urge them to continue to provide for the needy to ensure healthy lives in our community,” Lovelyn said.

Another beneficiary, a parent, who pleaded anonymity, thanked the organisation for the outreach initiative, which she said enabled her three children to also benefit from the outreach.

Our correspondent reports that the OBF is a non-profit organisation that helps abused women and girl-child and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Nigeria.