Ogun State Deputy Governor, Noimot Salako-Oyedele, has said the state would ensure successful campaign and distribution of approximately 3.1 million insecticide-treated nets in the state.

She stressed that the success of the net distribution and utilisation would play a vital role in reversing the growing mortality rate among children under five and combating the incidence of malaria in the state.

The deputy governor made this disclosure during her decoration as the ITN ambassador for the state for the period 2024 to 2027 by the Society for Family Health, on Monday.

The ceremony took place during the SFH’s advocacy visit to the Deputy Governor’s Office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the state capital.

Speaking after her decoration, Salako-Oyedele said, “The state government will do everything within its capacity to ensure the successful distribution and utilisation of the insecticide-treated nets.

“The Commissioner for Health has just spoken about the growing under-five mortality rate. We need these nets to halt this upward trend in under-five mortality and reduce the burden of malaria in the state, as well as its impact on the health of our people.

“So, it is our responsibility to give maximum support to lofty initiatives like this, and you can count on the 100 per cent support of the government to achieve a state that is free of malaria.”

Salako-Oyedele pledged that, as the face of the ITN campaign in the state, she would be ready to support and lead advocacy efforts to ensure the campaign’s success.

Speaking earlier, the Director of the Society for Family Health, Dr John Ocholi, represented by the SFH Project Director, Christopher Dangana, urged Salako-Oyedele to help rally support for the acceptance and usage of the treated nets to fight malaria to a standstill in the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Tomi Coker, in her remarks at the programme, lamented the under-utilisation of the ITNs by residents of the state.