Malaria: Kano records 62 deaths in 3 months

The Commissioner for Health, Abubakar Labaran, made this known while briefing newsmen during the World Malaria Day celebration at Muhammadu Wase Teaching Hospital (MAWTH).

He said, “In Kano, it’s recorded that malaria is the single most common reason for about 60 percent of outpatient visits and consultations. It is estimated that in the year 2023 alone, more than 3.2 million hospital visits were due to the menace of malaria, which is a preventable disease. In economic terms, malaria morbidity and mortality have led to the loss of billions of Naira in drugs, non-school and work attendance, hospital stays, and other out-of-pocket expenses.

“In the year 2023, the outpatient attendance relating to malarial cases was 3,435,750, with total fever cases screened for malaria recorded at 3,247,651 and 2,348,264 confirmed to have malaria (99.0%) treated with ACTs. Meanwhile, 448 mortality was recorded.

“For the first quarter of this year, 480,104 individuals were diagnosed to have confirmed uncomplicated malaria, with 474,565 (98.8%) treated with ACTs and (62) mortality cases recorded.”

The commissioner added that to address these challenges, the Kano State Government, under the leadership of Abba Kabir Yusuf, had placed a high priority on saving the lives of women and children by strengthening the health care system at all levels.

He pointed out that anti-malarial commodities worth 1.2 billion naira were procured annually by the state government with support from partners across 839 health facilities sponsoring distribution to the last mile to prevent stock-outs.