By Habibatullah onakpa Abdallah
The Kogi State Government will distribute 3,141,485 insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) to households across the state from November 8 to 15, 2026, as part of efforts to reduce malaria prevalence and strengthen preventive healthcare.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Abdulazeez Adams Adeiza, disclosed this on Thursday during a media engagement in Lokoja.
Adeiza, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Maji Enoch, said the exercise was being implemented in collaboration with the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) and Malaria Consortium after nine years without a statewide free mosquito net distribution campaign.
He described malaria as a major public health challenge caused by the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes, noting that the disease continued to impose significant economic costs on households and the country through treatment expenses, prevention costs and lost working hours.
According to him, Nigeria accounts for 24.3 per cent of global malaria cases annually and an estimated 30.3 per cent of the 579,000 malaria-related deaths recorded worldwide each year, citing 2025 data from the World Health Organisation.
He, however, said the 2025 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey showed that malaria prevalence in the country had declined from 22 per cent in 2021 to 15.2 per cent in 2025.
The commissioner disclosed that Kogi State recorded a malaria prevalence rate of 8.9 per cent in the 2025 survey, but warned that the disease remained a threat to productivity, education and livelihoods because of frequent absenteeism from schools, offices, farms and markets.
Adeiza said sleeping under insecticide-treated nets remained one of the most effective ways of preventing malaria, adding that studies had shown that their use could reduce malaria incidence by 50 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for more than 90 per cent of global malaria cases.
He urged residents to take advantage of the free distribution exercise, stressing that consistent use of the nets would help reduce malaria transmission and improve health outcomes across the state.
The commissioner explained that personnel wearing uniforms bearing the malaria campaign logo would visit households to register residents and distribute the nets, urging families to ensure that at least one representative was available to complete the registration process and collect their allocation.
He also advised beneficiaries to air the newly collected nets in the shade for 24 hours before hanging them, adding that the nets should be properly tucked around sleeping areas and used every night throughout the year.
Meanwhile, the external communication advisor of Malaria Consortium in Nigeria, Olubunmi Ojelade, has said that eliminating malaria in Nigeria is achievable if governments demonstrate the necessary political will and commitment.
Ojelade, who spoke at the same media engagement in Lokoja, said countries that had made significant progress towards eliminating malaria had done so through sustained commitment and deliberate efforts by their governments.
“Yes, we can achieve a malaria-free society if our government is committed. However, I am yet to see that commitment. Even though we have achieved significant milestones in the fight against malaria, more still needs to be done,” she said.
She appealed to the media to intensify public enlightenment on the importance of sleeping under insecticide-treated nets, stressing that sustained awareness and behavioural change were critical to reducing malaria prevalence in Kogi State.
The net distribution campaign is being coordinated by the Kogi State Ministry of Health through its Malaria Elimination Programme, in partnership with the NMEP and Malaria Consortium.
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