Eight States Benefit From U.S $90 Million Malaria Control Funds

<p><em>Eight States heave sigh of relief<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that U&period;S&period; Agency for International Development &lpar;USAID&rpar; Mission Director Anne Patterson&comma; joined Dr&period; Perpetua Uhomoibhi&comma; Coordinator of Nigeria’s National Malaria Elimination Program to launch a new activity to control the country’s leading killer of children – malaria – in rural areas of eight vulnerable states&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Over the next five years&comma; the &dollar;90 million President’s Malaria Initiative for States &lpar;PMI-S&rpar; will serve as the flagship activity for the global U&period;S&period; President’s Malaria Initiative &lpar;PMI&rpar; in Nigeria&period; Since 2010&comma; PMI has provided &dollar;712 million in investments&comma; including the distribution of over 61 million insecticide treated bed nets &lpar;ITN&rpar;&comma; which are now in 43 percent of all households&comma; twice the rate before the intervention&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;In Nigeria&comma; members of low-income households in rural areas are seven times more likely to contract malaria than urban dwellers&comma;” Patterson said&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Because these communities also have limited access to prevention and treatment services&comma; it is critically important to reach these populations to reduce malaria&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>In partnership with state governments&comma; PMI-S will improve the quality of and access to malaria services&comma; promote evidence-based decision-making&comma; boost drug drug-based prevention and treatments&comma; and strengthen health systems and program management&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The new activity builds on the success of earlier PMI-supported malaria interventions in Nigeria&comma; which has helped the national rate of malaria infection decrease by 16 percent – even higher for children under five – since PMI began operating in Nigeria&period; PMI has also helped increase the likelihood a pregnant woman receives malaria prophylaxis fourfold&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Led by USAID and implemented with the U&period;S<a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;guardian&period;ng&sol;">&period; Centers<&sol;a> for Disease Control and Prevention &lpar;CDC&rpar;&comma; in the last year&comma; in addition to distribution of ITNs – provided 22 million doses of prophylaxis to pregnant women&comma; 6&period;9 million doses to children&comma; and 129 million treatment doses at health facilities and in communities&period; Another 62 million rapid tests helped health workers properly diagnose and treat patients for malaria and other fevers&period; PMI-S is implemented by Management Sciences for Health &lpar;MSH&rpar;&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;