By Haruna Gimba
The National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) has designed a new programme, Rapid Diagnostic Therapy (RDTs), ‘Test before Treatment’, as a means to eliminate malaria in Nigeria before year 2020.
National Coordinator of NMEP, Dr Nnenna Ezeigwe stated this at a two-day workshop on the National Guidelines on Diagnosis and Treatment of Malaria in Abuja.
Represented by Dr. Perpetua Uhomoibhi, a Director at the Federal Ministry of Health, she said the programme was designed to ensure that every case of fever was tested and confirmed before malaria treatment could be administered.
She said that due to the ineffectiveness of the previous monotherapy, it was discontinued and the more effective Artemisinin CombinationTherapy (ACTs) introduced and approved for malaria treatment.
The National Coordinator said the workshop was meant to train national monitors, who would in turn train medicine vendors at the state level on the application of the RDTs and proper use of ACTs to treat malaria
Also speaking, Head of Case Management Branch, National Malaria Elimination Programme, Dr. Godwin Ntadom, said the department planned to organize public enlightenment programmes on the right treatment for malaria.
He stressed that drugs such as Chloroquine, Halfan and Fansider were no longer recommended for the treatment of malaria due to their ineffectiveness, saying RDT for now, is one of the best diagnostic tools available for family and community use.
