By Marie-Therese Nanlong

About 2.9 million insecticide treated nets would be distributed to citizens of Plateau State to enable them prevent malaria especially among pregnant women and children under the age of five.

The gesture is courtesy the United State Agency for International Development, USAID with the Global Health Supply Chain, Breakthrough Action Nigeria and Society for Family Health as the implementing partners.

During separate visits to the State Ministry of Information and Communication as well as the Plateau Environment Protection and Sanitation Agency, PEPSA ahead of the nets’ distribution, the implementing partners called for robust collaborations to ensure effective awareness and appropriate disposal of waste that would be generated during the exercise.

Speaking with the State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Musa Ashoms, Dr. Adeoye Olushola of Breakthrough Action Nigeria asked for assistance to “create awareness and sensitization to ensure the people make use of the nets.”

At the PEPSA office where they met with the Director-General, Samuel Dapiya, Godson Kingsley, the Team Lead of the Distribution Campaign Team stated, “Since 2009, we have distributed over 200 million treated nets in Nigeria and this translates to tons of wastes being generated across the country. This is the third time we are distributing nets in Plateau State and we have equally generated a whole lot of waste in the State of which we have not been managing appropriately.

“When we came in here, we were expecting cold but right now, the weather is hot. This is a clear indication of global warming and climate change. We have all been contributing to it but we need to have a change, collaborate to do the right thing and to also contribute to solving the global warming issues.

“The distribution of over 2.9 million nets will generate a lot of waste and the plan to dispose this waste is by burn and bury but this will pollute the environment and contribute to global warming and we don’t want that.

“We will generate the waste across 1,080 distribution points in the 325 Wards. We need to pull this waste together because it is a raw material and can be recycled to produce other things for use.”

He added, “We want Plateau to be the first State to implement the recycling activity using the waste from the nets’ distribution. We have seen the great job you are doing to keep Jos clean, we want to collaborate with you to tell the success story.”

The Programme Manager, Plateau State Malaria Elimination Programme under the State Ministry of Health, Kizito Ndak said the flag off of the exercise would be done by the State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang on the 12th April, 2024, stating, “We have already received a donation of over 2.9 million insecticide treated nets as a part of their contribution to malaria control in the State.”

Responding, Ashoms said malaria is a major public health challenge that has cut short the lives of people and assured the Ministry and the State government would partner with them to ensure the success of the distribution exercise.

The PEPSA DG, Dapiya added, “A part of the mandate of PEPSA is to look into how wastes are generated, managed and recycled as much as possible to ensure waste to wealth. We thank the donors of nets, this is an effort in ensuring that Plateau people are healthy, we will ensure that we have an effective collaboration.

“We have an abandoned dump site in Jos South, it has never been used since it was purchased over eight years ago.

We will put this to use. Our Environmental Health workers are across the 17 LGAs, they will see how the waste would be moved from the various points to where they will be recycled. We are aware of the health and environmental risks these wastes will pose to our communities but PEPSA will be available to check that.

“Beyond the mosquito nets, we are looking forward to having a State where there will be no need for the nets because mosquitoes causing malaria come from poor hygienic environment so the environment would be made to be mosquitoes-free.”