By Praise Chinecherem
Anambra State government on Saturday disclosed that 6,000 deliveries and 120 Cesarean sections had been recorded since Governor Chukwuma Soludo flagged off the free antenatal care and delivery scheme for pregnant women in September 2023.
Commissioner for Health, Anambra State, Dr Afam Obidike who dropped the hint in an interview in Awka also announced that the state ranked second among the states with the lowest prevalence of Malaria in the country.
Assessing the impact of the interventions in the health sector by Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s administration, Obidike said, “aaccording to the current National Malaria Survey, Lagos state had the lowest malaria prevalence with three per cent while Anambra ranked second lowest with five per cent.”
He also said that the District Health Information system of 2023 indicated that children under-five deaths due to malaria had continued to decrease in Anambra.
“Anambra recorded 4.6 per cent of under-five mortality due to malaria in 2020, 4.4 per cent in 2021, 3.5 in 2022 and 0.96 on 2023.
“Anambra state was able to achieve the reduction in Malaria prevalence with desilting of drains across the state and the distribution of 3.8 million mosquito nets in partnership with Malaria Consortium.
“The rate of net use has increased in Anambra from 27 per cent to 57 per cent which is above the national average of 37 per cent.
“In the Free Antenatal Care scheme introduce by the state government, pregnant women are given the Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine drug to treat malaria in pregnancy.
“Our goal is to make Anambra the lowest state with malaria prevalence in Nigeria and we are working tirelessly to achieve that,” he said.
Obidike further said that government was recruiting more health workers, upgrading and equipping health facilities to ensure unhindered access to quality and affordable healthcare in the state.
