Tackle malaria with religious advocacy – Cleric

From left Bishop Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury Designate, the Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Saa’ad Abubakar; Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and President Christian Association of Nigeria CAN Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor at the launching of Tony Blair Foundation Led-work in Nigeria to Encourage Reconcillation Between Christain and Moslems Communities in Abuja on November 22, 2012 AFP

Bishop, Methodist Church, Nigeria, Sunday Onuoha, has urged religious leaders to use their various platforms to help reduce the scourge of malaria in the country. Onuoha said this in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State on Monday during a programme organised by the Nigerian Inter-Faith Action Association alongside National Malaria Control.
Noting that malaria is the highest killer in the country, the cleric said about 300,000 Nigerians die annually from the sickness.
He said, “About 300,000 Nigerians die every year from malaria. If such is happening, it means malaria is the highest killer in this country. We cannot afford to watch it happening. Christians and Muslims are coming together to identify those common interests and fight them. Malaria is our common enemy.
“So bringing together Islamic leadership at the highest level headed by the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar; then, Christian community, headed by the President of Christian Association of Nigeria, Ayo Oritsejafor, you can see that the initiative is a veritable tool to educate people on how to use mosquito-treated nets to avoid being killed by malaria.”

culled: Punchng