Kaolack, June 27 (APS) – The seasonal malaria chemo-prevention campaign (CPS) will be held from July 5 to September 9 in the Kaolack health district (center), targeting children aged three to 120 months, APS learned on Thursday from the coordinator of this community initiative, Seydouna Alioune Kébé, focal point of the said district.
He made the announcement during an information sharing and awareness meeting for the benefit of information and communication professionals and members of the Cable Networks Association, at the Kaznack Health Center, in the capital of Saloum, an area where the environment and climate are favorable to the development of malaria.
For this year, some 83,419 children are targeted, including 7,889 aged between three and eleven months and 41,565 aged between twelve months and 5 years, said Mr. Kébé, specifying that this campaign is part of the implementation of the action plan of the Directorate for the fight against disease, through the National Program for the fight against malaria.
“Within the framework of the PNLP, we have two types of prevention: medicinal and non-medicinal. Non-medicinal prevention refers to the distribution of long-lasting impregnated mosquito nets (LLINs) which are currently available at all service points of the health district and basic community organizations (CBOs) of Kaolack,” he assured.
During the campaign, in the Kaolack health district, which has 31 health posts, only the 21 are concerned. And the interventions will be carried out at 19 health posts in the commune of Kaolack and in two health structures in the commune of Kahone.
”The inputs are available at the various health posts concerned and the training of head nurses (ICP) will be held on Friday and Saturday. We will then move on to training community stakeholders,” explained Seydouna Alioune Kébé.
Stressing that the same exercise was done for neighborhood delegates, religious people and Sports and Cultural Associations (ASC), he indicated that a workforce of “more than a thousand community relays” will be trained.
“The medications are already in place at the health posts concerned and administration will be done over three days, with one day of mop-up or catch-up,” said Mr. Kébé who deplores the difficulties linked to the refusal of certain households in Kaolack.
“Kaolack is a very endemic area with many cases of malaria, but sometimes refusal at the household level poses a lot of problems for us. This is why, at the district level, we have a communication plan with awareness caravans, among others,” argued Kébé.
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