By Our Correspondent
Amid a day-long torrential downpour, over 150 folks from Ode-Ugborodo in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State trooped out to be tested and treated for malaria in the second leg of a Roll-Back-malaria campaign sponsored by the NNPC Chevron JV in partnership with Delta State Government.
The kick-off event for the second leg was held on September 11, 2019 at the Ode-Ugborodo Health Centre located at Aruntan-Ugborodo.
The beneficiaries, comprising children, women, pregnant women, youths and the aged from Madangho and other neighboring Itsekiri communities, were also given free drugs and treated mosquitoes nets.
The campaign also involved free malaria test, distribution of insecticide treated nets, waste management bins to selected households and community health and environmental education centres.
The event, which is a continuation of the RBM campaign that earlier held on June 7, 2019, at Tsekelewu community and environs in Warri North, was implemented by an NGO, the Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (RAPA). Members of the WRAPA team included a medical doctor, nurses, laboratory technologists and social workers.
National Reformer understands that a total of 3,000 treated mosquito nets, 4,000 testing kits, 2,000 drugs and 200 waste bins were earmarked for distribution to the folks for the July and September campaigns.
One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Bose Ajakaye, who said none of her children tested positive to malaria parasite, expressed gratitude to NNPC/Chevron JV for coming over to help them tackle the scourge of malaria in the swamp creeks.
“Them dey give us medicine and net for malaria. “I no get oo even my pikin sef na negative because them don dey give us before we dey use am the way them tell us make we dey use am.
“Na the net wey we dey use na in dey shield us from mosquitoes oo. “I say “thank you” as them dey help us. God go help them make them dey come more and more,” the mother, who brought along her five children, said.
The chairman of Warri South West Local Government Area, Mr. Taiye Tuoyo, lauded NNPC/Chevron JV for coming to the aide of the rural folks at a time the rains are coming more heavily and mosquitoes breeding everywhere.
Tuoyo, who was represented by the Supervisor for Health, Warri South West, Emami Harriman and Councilor from Ajudaibo Ward, Honorable Ernest Menewe, described the exercise as wonderful.
“It’s a good initiative that NNPC and Chevron brought this to the community and we appreciate it so much because malaria has been an epidemic in this environment.
“It’s wonderful. It’s a way of letting the community know that we care for them. “I believe that they will no longer have that mentality that health care is about money,” they noted.
