[size=18pt]Cuban experts propose bio-technology to stem malaria in Nigeria
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Friday, 12 November 2010 00:00 From Joke Akanmu, Abuja News - National



IN a bid to partner with the Federal Government in the fight against malaria scourge in the country, Cuban experts have proposed the use of biological technology to curb the menace.

A statement by an officer in the Cuban Embassy, Mr. Innocent Odoh, said that the biological technology would control mosquitoes, which it described as the chief transmitter of the dreaded malaria disease.

Mr. Jose Fraga Castro, who led the team of experts to Nigeria to evaluate the possibility of introducing the biological process, said the proposal had already been submitted to Nigeria’s Ministry of Health.

Castro stated that the Cuban authorities were ready to collaborate with the Federal Government in constructing plants where the products would be manufactured and assist in training Nigerian experts and citizens on the method of applying them in ponds, lakes, rivers, drainages, sewages and lagoons to kill the mosquitoes in their larva stage.
Castro stressed that this process for over 30 years has helped the developed countries to reduce malaria epidemic because they have accessed it and it has worked effectively. He stated that the biological process is far better than the treated mosquito nets, which do not kill mosquitoes completely.

According to the statement, the envoy decried the backwardness of the Third World countries in exploiting the programme, thus leading to the death of thousands of people.

He revealed that the biological process has taken off and recorded success in Angola, Zambia, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea, urging Nigeria to leverage this opportunity to eliminate the deadly disease.

He lauded the positive response of the Nigerian Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, saying that the programme does not have a secondary effect in both human beings and animals as it has been approved by the World Health Organisation.

The experts, who had also visited Port Harcourt, urged the Rivers State government to also embrace the technology.


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