MOSQUITOES!! MOSQUITOES!! MOSQUITOES!!
Has SuNMaP Helped us, Can we try SIT
One of the projects that helped Nigeria to be
malaria free is Support to National Malaria Programme (SuNMaP) funded by the
Department for International Development (DFID) led by malaria consortium, in
partnership with GRID Consulting and Health Partners International.
The programme has helped the Nation
·
To
provide technical assistance for building the National malaria elimination
programme (NMEP) , state malaria elimination programm (SMEP) and building
capacity of local governments in service delivery and health programme
management
·
provided
technical assistance to the Nigerian National Malaria Elimination Programme
(NMEP) to scale up malaria control, develop research priorities and national strategies
·
built
capacity for more effective programme management
·
trained
health workers to diagnose and treat malaria in their communities
Major accomplishments of SuNMaP
·
Saved
the lives of 48,000 children under the age of five
·
Distributed
twelve million long-lasting insecticidal nests
·
Contributed
to the increase in coverage from seven to fifty eight percent between 2008 and
2014 etc.
·
Rapid
diagnostic tests and 2.7 million ant malarial drugs were distributed
Thumps up for this programme that ended last
month. There are more to be done. Disease-transmitting mosquitoes are on the
increase, the programme was not implemented in so many states.
Now that SuNMap has ended WHAT NEXT?
CAN NIGERIA TRY
SIT?
Applying
SIT-based approaches requires substantial research and customization of the
technique to the insect’s biology. ‘Mosquito control using this technology at
an industrial scale is still in early stages, with successful pilot programmes
in Italy, Indonesia, Mauritius and China showing encouraging results,” said
Konstantinos Bourtzis, a molecular biologist at the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of
Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. “It is like cars in the 1890s: it
works but will need to undergo further development and refinement,” he said.
WHAT IS
SIT?
The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is a pest
control that uses radiation to tackle and eradicate pests. These pests destroy
fruit and kill livestock.
HOW?
This is done by mass production of male
insect pests in a special rearing facility, use an ionizing radiation to
sterilize the male insect pests and release them in a target area.
HAS IT
EVER BEEN USED AND ON WHICH PEST?
The SIT had been used successfully around the
world for over 50 years to suppress and eradicate these pests such as fruit
flies, tsetse flies, mosquitoes (the carrier of zika) that destroy fruit and
kill livestock.
USE
INSECTICIDES AND APPLY OTHER MEASURES?
Other conventional measures although seems
effective had not yielded effective results to eradicate these pests. Project
that helped Nigeria to be malaria free
She
(Dr. Nnenna Ezeigwe) said that catching mosquito at the breeding sight is a
strategy for eliminating malaria in Nigeria. So she advice Nigerians to
·
Keep
their environment clean
·
Stop
storing dirty water and apply general cleanliness
·
Apply
indoor residual spray
·
Sleep
in a long lasting insecticidal net
·
Rapid
diagnostic test to available at private hospitals
·
Recommend
malaria drugs should be available to Nigerians at subsidized rate
Despite these measures resistance to
insecticides is increasing, good malaria drugs are not sold at
subsidized rates, insecticidal net is no more for common people, low awareness
on the importance of malaria diagnosis, and public health officials are
constantly looking for new ways to tackle challenges of pests and its diseases.
WHO’S
INTERESTED?
Countries from around the world are showing
increased interest in the use of the sterile insect technique (SIT) to suppress
the populations of pests especially mosquitoes that transmit malaria, Zika and
other diseases
IS IT
SAFE?
Sterile Insect Technique is safe and
environmental friendly. The IAEA, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is spearheading global research in
the development and application of SIT. The IAEA provides Member States through
its field projects with the techniques and infrastructure needed to run the
programme.
Molecular Biologist Konstantinos said, “It is like cars in
the 1890s: it works but will need to undergo further development and
refinement,” IAEA in partnership with FAO provides Member States with
techniques and infrastructure needed to run the programme
IS IT
POSSIBLE IN NIGERIA?
In the past decade, through various IAEA
projects, several countries have requested and received essential training,
equipment and technology in SIT application against mosquitoes. Nigeria as a
Member State of IAEA can request and receive essential trainings and
equipments.
WHAT
NIGERIA HAS SPENT SO FAR, REQUEST FOR FUND, YET
‘’The programme (SuNMaP) cost 89 million
pounds for the period it lasted,’’ said,
Mr. Ben Mellor, Head of the UK-DFID in
Nigeria.
‘’Defeating malaria in Nigeria will not be an
easy task. It will require a doubling of malaria funding from both the
international donor community and Nigerian sources’’ said, Charles Nelson,
Chief Executive of malaria consortium.
WAY
FORWARD
The IAEA, in partnership with the FAO, has
already provided some essential equipment and technology needed for mass
rearing to several countries, including Sudan, Brazil and South Africa and has
trained several entomologists from its Member States.
Nigeria is a Member State of IAEA and they
are collaborating with FAO to build human capacity, provide Member States
through its field projects with the techniques and infrastructure needed to run
the programme. With little or no resources put together, human capacity
building, scientists, entomologists, researchers will be trained for
eradication of disease-transmitting mosquitoes.
REFERENCES
1. Daily Trust, Vol.39,
No.57, p.27. 22 March 2016
2. www.iaea.org
