Kédougou, June 7 (APS) – The regional health director of Kédougou, Doctor Ababacar Mbaye, announced on Friday that antimalarial drugs will be administered this year to 56,000 children in this region in the southeast of the country, within the framework of of the seasonal malaria chemo-prevention campaign (CPS).
“In 2024, we have a target that has evolved a lot. We must administer anti-malaria drugs to some 56,000 children throughout the Kédougou region, with an age range of 0 to 14 years throughout the campaign,” he declared.
He was speaking on the occasion of the official launching ceremony of the seasonal malaria chemo-prevention campaign (CPS), in the Kédougou region, where this campaign brought the number of its visits to five.
“Instead of four passages, we have had five since last year, because quite simply the transmission period is much earlier in Kédougou, because of the early winter,” he explained.
According to Doctor Mbaye, “the health department first trained medical staff, regional and district management teams, service providers and community staff”.
“Staff were trained early on to administer medications directly to these children. We have put in place all the equipment and logistics at the health district level, and the financing is acquired with USAID Owod,” he explained.
He said he had “raised awareness among the populations of the importance of the chemo-prevention campaign for seasonal malaria”.
According to the regional health director of Kédougou declares, “the populations must collaborate” with the teams on the ground by giving them “a good welcome”, so that they can “access” the children.
He advocates “good participation of the populations” with a view to “good behavior change with the use of Milda mosquito nets [moustiquaire imprégnée à longue durée d’action]”.
He invited local authorities and mining companies to support the health sector with funding, insisting that the chemo prevention campaign for seasonal malaria can benefit more from support.
According to him, this is to allow the health department to increase its health teams.
PID/SKS/ASG/BK
 – Senegalese press agency){kind=link}