Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo, has flagged off the distribution of 3,810,985 insecticide-treated mosquito nets to 1,130,935 households across the state as part of efforts to expand malaria prevention.
The flag-off ceremony was held at the Government House, Lokoja, where the First Lady, Sefinat Usman Ododo, was decorated by Malaria Consortium as Kogi State Ambassador for Insecticide-Treated Nets
The distribution is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, November 11, and last for eight days. Trained personnel are expected to visit households and communities to deliver the nets.
Represented by the Commissioner for Health, Hon. Adams Adeiza, the governor described malaria as a major public health concern, particularly for children under five and pregnant women.
He said the disease contributes to maternal complications, miscarriages, low birth weight and anaemia, while also placing financial pressure on households.
According to him, the campaign being implemented in partnership with Malaria Consortium is to expand malaria prevention and protect families across the state.
The governor warned against selling, diverting or using the nets for fishing and farming, describing such practices as a threat to the campaign’s objectives.
Ododo also called on traditional rulers, religious leaders, women and youth groups to mobilise residents for the exercise, urging health workers and distribution teams to ensure transparency and accountability.
The West and Central Africa Programmes Director of Malaria Consortium, Dr Kolawole Maxwell, said the organisation, in partnership with the state government and the National Malaria Elimination Programme, had procured about four million insecticide-treated nets for distribution across the state’s 21 local government areas and 239 wards.
He disclosed that 6,404 personnel had been trained and deployed for the exercise, adding that households would be registered and the nets tracked to ensure accountability.
Maxwell said the nets contain pyrethroid and chlorfenapyr designed to provide protection in areas where mosquitoes have developed resistance to older insecticides.
He urged residents to welcome distribution teams and ensure that all family members, especially children under five and pregnant women, use the nets consistently.
In her remarks, the First Lady, represented by the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hon. Acharu Okpanachi, thanked Material Consortium and pledged to promote the use of insecticide-treated nets across the 21 local government areas.
She urged fathers and husbands to take responsibility for protecting their families, while encouraging women to ensure that household members use the nets regularly.
