The roles of primary Health care providers in preventing Malaria Drug Resistance: Experts at Newgate College of health Minna

By: Muhammad Danjuma Abubakar

Malaria: is one of the commonest diseases bedevilling African sub-region. Despite global concerted efforts, it has remain a major public health problem. Ninety percent (90%) cases of this dreaded scourge come from Africa and forty percent (40%) of death rates arising from Malaria cases occurred in just two countries of Nigeria and DR Congo (Ilesanmi et’ al 2017). With pregnant women and children below 5, mostly at the risk, 11% of maternal mortality and 30% of child mortality cases respectively are due to Malaria; killing an African child every 30seconds according to statistics.
Nonetheless, there have been various international and National Malaria Programs to roll back this scourge, but resistance to anti Malaria drugs has become a stumbling block in the fight against Malaria. It is in view of the above that expert converge recently at Newgate College of Health Technology Minna, to discuss on how to solve the problem of “Malaria drug resistance” during the college fourth annual lecture series.
Anti – Malaria drug resistance means the ability of a parasite strain to survive and or multiply despite the administration and absorption of a drug given in doses (Oluwasogo, 2018). At the event which drew guests and general public within an outside Niger State speakers one after another, argued that Malaria cases are largely from rural areas and are mostly common among people of low income.
The guest speaker at the event Associate professor Olalubi Oluwasogo of the Kwara State University (KWASU) expressed views that the problems of Malaria drug resistance could be solved largely by primary health care providers because the disease affect people in the rural areas mostly and highlighted their roles as follows:
i)Ensuring that treatment guidelines are available and strictly followed at all health facilities.
ii)Ensuring that treatment education and communication Materials (IEC) (BCC) are always available at the facility.
iii)Home visits and follow up practices as well as patient compliance.
iv)Participate and support in new drug or vaccine development.
v)Ensuring prompt reporting and referral of severe Malaria to secondary level of care as the case may be among others.