PHOTOS: Exxon Mobil, PanAfricare hold basketball tournament to raise awareness of malaria

PanAfricare, an international non-profit organisation, is using basketball to sensitise secondary school students on eradicating malaria in Nigeria.

The ‘Power Foward’ project sponsored by Exxon Mobil, and the National Basketball Association (NBA) had the closing series of a basketball tournament on Thursday in Abuja.

Patrick Adah, PanAfricare’s country director for Nigeria, said the project focused on basketball because of its ability to connect people through its features.

He added that the programme was also targeted at developing leadership skills among young people.

“In basketball, you learn respect, teamwork, discipline, and hardwork. You learn resilience and all these are needed for you to implement projects, be a better citizen, and to even excel in everything that you do in life,” Adah said.

“We found it a very appealing game to use because it has a way of giving the youth the right orientation in life.”

Speaking further, he said the project is in its 10th year and has impacted thousands of students, adding that plans are in motion to achieve more results.

“We’ve reached over 200,000 people. A lot of students have passed through the programme and they have benefited. Some of them are in university doing very well — these are the products of the ‘Power Forward’ cohort,” he said.

“The project is being implemented in 40 schools. We started in 10 schools, which shows growth, and we’re hoping to take it further.”

He acknowledged the government’s attempts in curbing malaria but said the efforts could be better.

“Nigeria is one of the endemic countries where malaria prevalence is very high and so it takes a gradual process, and getting people to adopt preventive measures like sleeping in a mosquito net has been difficult,” Adah said.

“One of the ways people can input is by being conscious of their health. When you have symptoms of malaria, go for a test to be sure and don’t self-medicate.

“Based on the limited resources, the country is trying its best but we can do better.”

On his part, Bivan Ayuba, deputy director, federal capital territory (FCT) malaria elimination programme, said the malaria prevalence in the FCT has dwindled owing to PanAfricare’s contribution.

He called on the organisation to expand its projects into other sports for wider reach.

“It’s a good strategy because sports and games attract the attention of the general public, particularly the youths, and if that strategy is used to pass along message of malaria elimination, the impact will go a long way,” Ayuba said.

“Overtime, malaria has been going down in the FCT and a part of it is a result of PanAfricare’s contribution in the society.

“If the project can be expanded to other sports, if you catch the youths at diverse levels, then messages will go a long way.”

Here are some photos from the event.