Abia to distribute more than 3 million insecticide-treated nets

Abia is preparing its first mass distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets in more than a decade, with 3.03 million nets planned for residents across all 17 local government areas.

Information Commissioner Okey Kanu announced the plan after a State Executive Council meeting in Umuahia. He said the campaign, carried out with Nigeria’s National Malaria Elimination Programme, would cost more than ₦1 billion and strengthen efforts to prevent malaria infections and deaths.

The state has not conducted a mass distribution campaign since 2010. Kanu called the new exercise timely and said the Ministry of Health would work with the national programme to implement it across Abia.

Kanu also announced that the Community Supported Health Insurance Programme would formally launch in Abiriba on 16 September. The Abiriba Improvement Union will fund the initial enrollment of 1,000 residents, at ₦18,000 per person, representing an initial investment of ₦18 million. Kanu urged other community improvement unions to support enrollment in the same way.

He said total participation in Abia’s health insurance scheme had reached 270,739. The state recruitment portal also remains open for medical consultants, medical officers and dental officers as the government seeks to staff its health facilities.

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The distribution is timely and will strengthen the state's efforts to reduce the malaria burden and protect residents from preventable infections.