‘Fidson producing cheap, high-quality antimalarial drugs’

Fidson Healthcare Plc says it is producing high-quality and affordable antimalarial drugs for Nigerians.

This was stated by Adesoji Fasanya, Fidson’s product manager for antimalarial, who said the drug maker was actively participating in a global campaign by enlightening Nigerians on how to prevent the spread of malaria.

“We are aware that there is a direct link between poverty and incidence of malaria. Therefore, the cost of therapy must be affordable for patients to reduce the economic burden of malaria on them. This is one major role that we play,” Fasanya said, on the back of World Malaria Day held last week.

He said the company was concerned about the prevalence of malaria and the alarming rate of malaria infection in the country, calling on all Nigerians to embark on nationwide preventive actions against the menace of malaria in the country.

He advised Nigerians to prevent malaria infection through the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS), adding that improved sanitation and avoidance of stagnant water bodies were other veritable means of controlling malaria.

Speaking on the 2015 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey reports on statistics credited to the National Malaria Elimination Programme of the Federal Ministry of Health, which estimated that about 110 million clinically diagnosed cases of malaria and nearly 300,000 malaria-related childhood deaths occur each year, Fidson’s product manager for antimalarial said this report was alarming, as it showed that Nigeria had the largest volume of malaria cases recorded in any single country globally. Fasanya further said that a bigger concern was the fact that malaria was preventable, regretting that most people, especially those living in rural or semi-urban areas of developing countries, were ignorant of how to prevent it.

“We are always talking about malaria prevention and control as well as an increase in awareness of the disease. To that extent, we partner with various stakeholders in the healthcare sector in this respect. We have sales representatives all over the country who engage in talks with pregnant women, school children, the general public. Malaria is a preventable disease. We, therefore, need to stop losing lives to this disease. People need to be aware of how to reduce the chances of a vector bite. That alone is a major step in combating malaria,” he said.

He advised Nigerians to make deliberate and preventive efforts by keeping their environment clean, removing stagnant water from their environment, as well as consistently using long lasting insecticide treated nets and proper diagnosis before treatment.

ODINAKA ANUDU