The Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) is 100 per cent accurate and can be administered by pharmacies or patent medicine vendors in order to reduce the malaria burden in Nigeria.
Nnamdi Nwaneri, the case management officer of the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), said this in Abuja at a two-day data analysis and report writing meeting on the use of RDT.
He said it is important to test for malaria before using drugs, adding he was collaborating with the Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) to drive the programme with a view to reducing the disease burden.
Furthermore, he said that monitoring and supervision effort was also intended to create awareness on the need to request for parasitological confirmation using RDTs from PPMVs and CPs before purchasing anti-malarial drugs.
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“My advice to the society is that not all fever is malaria; when you feel feverish and decide to visit your healthcare provider, simply ask to be tested before you are treated,” he said.
Nwaneri said NMEP is “working together with state governments, state ministries of health and association of patent medicine vendors to make sure that it is achieved.
“We have discussed with PCN and we agreed that pharmacists and patent medicine vendors can test for malaria after being properly trained.”
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According to Nwaneri, incidences of malaria are dropping even though a total elimination goal has not yet been reached.
He urged all stakeholders to embrace the national policy on malaria, to reduce the malaria burden to the barest minimum.
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