As part of the effort to curb malaria prevalence among boarding school students in Jigawa state, an insecticide-treated net (ITNs) manufacturing company, BASF, has donated mosquito nets to the students of Science and Technical College, Hadejia.
Speaking while presenting the mosquito-treated nets, the BASF Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Country Cluster, West Africa, Dr Jean-Marc Ricca, said the gesture was to protect the students against malaria while in school.
The CEO explained that it is also to complement the state government and other partners’ efforts in reducing the prevalence of malaria in the state and the nation in general.
According to him, “I’m happy to present 800 number of ITNs to you as part of our contribution to preventing and curb the prevalence of malaria, especially in this rainy season where stagnant water and grasses, the breading mosquito is all over. We would also retrieve old nets from the students to be recycled for other uses.”
Jean-Marc Ricca added that “the exercise will be an opportunity for the students to discover recycling for a cleaner environment.”
He noted that the mosquito-treated nets donation is not part of the main ITN distribution to households in the state, but a new component of it called ‘End of Life’, under which old nets are retrieved from communities for recycling for a cleaner and healthier environment.
Also, the Director of Nature Conservation, Ministry of Environment, Mr Ibrahim Lawan, commended the manufacturer’s effort to retrieve the old nets for recycling as they are not degradable.
Lawan, who spoke on behalf of the Commissioner for Environment, Dr Nura Ibrahim, said the state government is also collaborating with NGOs and other partners in recycling such non-degradable materials for a cleaner environment.
He explained that to make the environment clean, such materials are being collected and taken to industries for recycling purposes.
On his part, the Director of Pharmaceutical Services, Ministry of Health, Pharm. Rabiu Yakubu also commanded the firm for supporting the state in the fight against malaria.
Yakubu said the gesture will go along in protecting the students from malaria.
The director, who spoke on behalf of the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Mohammad Kainuwa, called on the beneficiaries to ensure that they sleep under the nets to achieve the desired goal.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, the Deputy Head Student of the college, Usman Harisu, commended the firm for the gesture.
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