5,000 Bauchi pregnant women record rise in malaria attack

The rising cases of malaria among pregnant women have increased to over 5000 in Bauchi State.

On the occasion of World Malaria Day 2024, Bauchi State’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Adamu Umar Sambo, revealed a concerning spike in malaria cases among pregnant women, with over 5,000 affected.

He assured that the state government is intensifying efforts to combat this trend and reduce the burden of malaria among this vulnerable group.

Speaking on behalf of the Commissioner, Director Malaria Control of BACATMA, Hassan Baba Misau, said, “Malaria among pregnant women in the state has increased from 4,935 in 2023 to 5,216 in March 2024.

“Malaria cases in under five years have dropped from 23,536 to 21, 535, and in the age groups above five years, the numbers have also dropped from 34,209 to 31,720 from last year to this year.”

Sambo said the Bauchi State Agency for the Control of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Malaria, BACATMA, in collaboration with the Malaria Consortium and other partners was working to tame the prevalence of malaria.

He maintained that the annual commemoration of WMD provides an avenue to showcase successes and challenges in the fight against malaria in the state.

According to him, “the challenges being encountered are receiving committed attention from the state government and partners working in the health sector to reverse the trend.”

The commissioner assured that the Bauchi State Ministry of Health will continue to work in Synergy with BACATMA and other partners to fight against malaria in the state.

He added that the state government through BACATMA has created a massive awareness campaign on malaria and trained various cadres of health personnel on proper diagnosis and treatment of malaria in both public and private health sectors.

While acknowledging support by the development partners, the commissioner called for more support in that regard.

On his part, the Executive Secretary of BACATMA Dr. Sani Mohammed Damban noted that a lot has been achieved in the fight against malaria.

He highlighted the significant contributions and collaboration from international partners, civil society organizations, and the media in the efforts to combat malaria and other communicable diseases in Bauchi State and across the country.

In a goodwill message, Indo Rabo Ibrahim, a representative of the Malaria Consortium and international partner, expressed gratitude to the Bauchi State Government for fostering a supportive environment, enabling their organization to effectively implement initiatives aimed at reducing malaria cases in the state.

Rabo informed that “this year is targeting 2 million children under the seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention, SMC Programme.

“To achieve the set target, we engaged and trained 2000 ad-hoc staff that will be going from house-to-house, giving free anti-malaria drugs for children aged 3-9 months.

It was gathered that the theme of this year’s World Malaria Day is ‘’Time to Zero Malaria: invest, innovate and Implement.’’