By Oye Chukwujekwu
Delta State Governor, Senator Dr Ifeanyi Okowa, has canvassed a holistic approach to tackling neglected tropical diseases in the country.
The governor made the appeal in Asaba while hosting Nigeria former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, who led the South South advocacy group on the control of Malaria and other Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).
While lauding the use of long lasting mosquito treated nets to check malaria, Okowa pointed out that holistic approach to tackling the issue would bring greater relief to Nigerians.
“I support the campaign for the distribution of insecticide treated mosquito nets but, we should try a holistic approach to control malaria scourge,” he said, reiterating, “Until we do this, we will find that year in, year out, we will keep on distributing nets while we are not controlling malaria holistically.
“We need to combine both the net and other control measures in the fight against malaria. This is possible because, until we start driving our nation in that direction, we may not get the desired result. In the long run, we will find that the money that we have put into the distribution of mosquito net could have produced better results using the holistic approach.”
The governor commended General Gowon for his commitment to the Nigerian project, assuring that his administration would support the fight against tropical diseases.
Gowon had told the governor that they were on advocacy visit for the eradication of malaria, river blindness, elephantiasis and other neglected tropical diseases..
