The Kogi Government, in collaboration with Malaria Consortium, will distribute 3.14 million insecticide-treated mosquito nets to households across the state from Nov. 8 to Nov. 15 to reduce malaria prevalence.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Abdulazeez Adeiza, said this on Thursday in Lokoja at a news conference on the 2026 Insecticide-Treated Net (ITN) campaign.
Adeiza, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Mr Enoch Maji, said the ministry would implement the exercise through its Malaria Elimination Programme, in collaboration with the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) and Malaria Consortium.
He said the distribution was aimed at strengthening malaria prevention, noting that Kogi’s malaria prevalence stood at 8.9 per cent, according to the 2025 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey.
The commissioner said designated personnel wearing uniforms bearing the malaria logo would distribute the free nets, urging households to ensure that a representative was available for registration and collection.
He advised beneficiaries to air the nets under a shade for 24 hours before use and sleep under them every night throughout the year.
The government said the exercise was particularly significant because the state had not benefited from a free insecticide-treated net distribution campaign in the past nine years.
Oluwabumi Ojelade, Social and Behavioural Change and External Communication Adviser at Malaria Consortium, said the campaign would focus not only on distributing the nets but also on ensuring their proper use.
Ojelade advised beneficiaries to sleep under the nets every night and air newly received nets under a shade for 24 hours before use.
Similarly, Hajia Suleiman Rafiat, the State Malaria Elimination Programme Manager, Kogi Ministry of Health, said the media’s wide reach and capacity to sensitise the public would help raise awareness and support efforts to eliminate malaria across the state.(
Discussion0