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Thursday, May 19, 2011

Malaria kills 4,500 expectant mothers yearly in Nigeria

Via The Nation :

" Ogun State Commissioner for Health Dr Kunle Salako yesterday said malaria killed about 4,500 expectant women yearly in Nigeria.

He urged Nigerians to take its prevention and treatment seriously because of its fatality.

According to him, 80 out of 100,000 expectant women in Ogun State were killed yearly by malaria, adding that the disease remained a major public health challenge in Nigeria.

Salako spoke in Abeokuta, the state capital, at a symposium on Malaria in pregnancy, organised by a non-governmental organisation, Support for National Malaria Programme (SuNMaP).

He said malaria is transmitted through anopheles mosquito bite, adding that Nigeria lost about N132billion to fighting the disease.

Salako noted that children and expectant women were mostly at risk of severe malaria and resultant death from the disease.

He urged expectant mothers to go for regular antenatal care and adopt good sanitation habits as preventive measures."

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