By SOLA OGUNDIPE

A MINISTER of God, Revd. Vincent Asuquo of the Methodist Cathedral of Unity, Zone 3, Wuse, Abuja, has called on Nigerians to seek divine assistance in addition to the physical interventions put together by the Federal government and the Roll Back Malaria  Partners in Nigeria.

Asuquo, who led other Ministers of God during the special Church service and advocacy visit by officials of the Federal Ministry of Health and the RBM Partners, as part of this year’s World Malaria Day activities in the country, delivered a sermon that dwelt on the impact of malaria on Nigerians and the need to take measures to combat the scourge.

In his presentation, Asuquo called for divine assistance to defeat malaria and that malaria war has been taken to the spiritual arena, in addition to the physical interventions put together by government and the RBM partners.

In a statement, National Coordinator,  National Malaria Elimination Programme, NMEP, Dr. Nnenna Ezeigwe, noted that the This year’s theme  “Invest in the Future:Defeat Malaria” and slogan “Together We Can”, was timely and appropriate.

Ezeigwe noted that malaria is caused by the germ called plasmodium falciparum and transmitted from one person to the other by the female anopheles mosquito, is preventable and curable and so it is painful that it is killing people.

She admonished the congregation to always sleep inside Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets and always keep their surroundings clear of stagnant water bodies, while pregnant women should access the Intermittent Prevention Treatment programme, IPTp, during ante-natal visits.

LLINs were distributed to pregnant women who were instructed on the correct way to use the nets correctly.