Governor Okowa advocates holistic approach to eradication of diseases

Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta on Tuesday said only through a holistic approach could malaria and other tropical diseases could be eradicated in the country.

The governor said this when he received a former military Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, and his South-South Advocacy Group on the control of Malaria and other Tropical Diseases (NTDs) in Asaba on Monday.

Okowa, however, commended Gowon for his commitment to the Nigerian project, assuring that his administration would support the fight against tropical diseases.

He also lauded the use of long lasting mosquito-treated nets to check malaria, but observed that a holistic approach to tackling the issue would bring greater relief to the citizens.

“I support the campaign for the distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets but, we should try a holistic approach to control malaria scourge.

“Until we do this, we will find that year in, year out, we will keep on distributing nets while we are not controlling malaria holistically.

“We need to combine both the nets and other control measures in the fight against malaria.

“This is possible because, until we start driving our nation in that direction, we may not get the desired result.

“And in the long run, we will find that the money that we have put into the distribution of mosquito nets could have produced better results using a holistic approach,’’ he said.

Earlier, Gen. Gowon said that the team was on advocacy visit for the eradication of malaria, river blindness, elephantiasis and other neglected tropical diseases.