The Enugu State Government has tasked stakeholders and partners on a massive malaria elimination awareness campaign at the grassroots, especially on free testing and treatment of malaria in the state. There is an ongoing free testing and treatment of malaria in all government-owned health facilities and some private health facilities in the state.
The Commissioner for Health, Prof George Ugwu, gave the task on Saturday at the 2026 1st Quarter Malaria’s Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilisation (ACSM) Group Meeting held in Enugu.
Represented by Dr Ifeyinwa Ugwunweze, the Local Government Health Secretary, Enugu-East LGA, the commissioner said that the state was pursuing it total malaria elimination with the overwhelming awareness needed. According to him, our health-loving Governor, His Excellency, Dr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, is optimistic that Enugu State can achieve zero malaria prevalence within a few years.
“At this stage, we, both stakeholders, partners, and everybody concerned to stop the menace of malaria, are taking the message of free testing and treatment of malaria to the hinterlands, to our rural people.
“For the rural people to know that it is their right to demand and access free testing and treatment of malaria in the Primary Healthcare Centres close to their homes. We are sending messages of other necessary things to be done to eliminate malaria by good environmental cleanliness and always sleeping under insecticide-treated nets, which some have already,” he said.
The commissioner appreciated various stakeholders and partners for their huge contributions to malaria elimination in the state. He noted that there was need for more aggressive work to be done by getting every resident to key in into the malaria elimination focus of the state government to hit its target.
Corroborating, Igwe Emmanuel Anichebe, who represented the Enugu State Traditional Rulers’ Council, said that the royal fathers would give the government all support to drive the message to all communities in the state.
“Royal fathers will drive the message home and ensure that government-owned health facilities in our communities are up and doing in the state’s free testing and treatment of malaria campaign,” Anichebe noted.
Speaking, the Chief Imam of Enugu, Sheik Ibrahim Ugwu, assured that religious leaders would work with the government on the awareness of malaria elimination, adding: “The People’s lives will be better protected”.
In a message, Mr Ozioma Nwobodo, State Coordinator of Johns Hopkins University Affiliate (Jhipiego), assured that the organisation would continue to provide professional partnership to Enugu State.
Nwobodo noted that Jhipiego would scale up it support not only on malaria elimination but also on other aspects of health to improve the quality of lives of the residents of the state.
Earlier, the Programme Manager, Enugu State Malaria Elimination Programme, Dr Ifeoma Otiji, noted that the stakeholders and partners of the programme had created huge visibility and discourse on malaria as a state emergency.
Otiji noted that the ACSM Group in the first quarter had put malaria prevention messages on the front burner and ensured accurate messages of testing for malaria first before treatment was administered by all.
“We achieved sending tenths of radio/television and print messages as well as discussions and forums on how residents can ensure malaria elimination, and then taking advantage of the free testing and treatment of malaria.
“The group did lots of council areas and community engagements/advocacy and ensured that all government-owned health facilities and some private-owned health facilities are delivering the free testing and treatment of malaria. Going forward, we are going to deepen our reach into the hinterlands in rural communities; do more group and interpersonal communication about malaria elimination,” she said.
