Africare Distributes 130,000 Nets in ExxonMobil Host Communities of A’Ibom, Rivers

Africare, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO) says it has distributed over 130,000 insecticidal nets and other consumables to the people in the ExxonMobil host communities of Akwa Ibom and Rivers.

The Africare Director, Malaria Programme, Dr. Patrick Adah, disclosed this in Eket local government area of Akwa Ibom during a recent windup ceremony of its malaria prevention programme in the communities.

Adah said since 2011, Africare had been working in collaboration with ExxonMobil on the project tagged ‘Malaria Prevention in Mobil Produc- ing Nigeria (MPN)-supplier communities (MAPS-C).’

He said the second phase of MAPS-C started in 2016 had ended in March 2018 and had reached 90,000 ExxonMobil vendors and family members with malaria prevention commodities.

Adah said within the life span of the project, a total of 33,173 rapid diagnostic tests were done and over 11,280 pregnant women were given preventive treatment on malaria.

He said the project had organised 142 malaria prevention outreaches in communities while a total of 295 seminars had been conducted for health workers in the state.

Adah said the MAPS-C project was implemented in two communities of Eket and Ibeno in Akwa Ibom and Bonny and Ogu/Bolo in Rivers respectively.

He said under Africa re Exxon Mobil partnership, a new device for testing malaria in individuals called Deki Reader was introduced in the two states in 2016.

Adah thanked ExxonMobil, the Akwa Ibom government and the two local government areas for their cooperation during the execution of the malaria prevention project.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Health Commissioner, Dr. Dominic Ukpong lauded ExxonMobil and Africare for assisting in the prevention of malaria in Akwa Ibom.