Malaria: Oyo spends over $12m, leads in control – USAID

By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan.
The Director, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Dr Michael Harvey has hinted that Oyo State has so far spent over $12 million on malaria control and other health related programmes in the state.
Dr Harvey dropped this hint while receiving Governor Abiola Ajimobi into his office for a thank- you visit to the agency’s office in Abuja.
According to the USAID Director, Oyo State is presently leading in malaria control and family planning in the country, saying, statistics available to USAID showed that malaria prevalence in children under the age of five years in Oyo State was 19 per cent compared to the national average of 27 percent and that malaria prevalence in the South West in 2010 was 50 percent.
The USAID Director lauded the governor’s wife, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi’s role in the distribution of mosquito-treated nets and enlightenment programmes, which contributed to the state’s leadership position in the control of malaria.
He however praised the Oyo Ministry of Health for ensuring that the state emerged leading user of contraceptives to control birth.