ISSN: 2642-6250
Authors: Atting IA*, Ndon EA, Afia UU, Ekuma AE, Atting MI and Ekanem AM
Malaria still remains an important public health concern in most parts of the world. Insecticide treated nets (ITNs) have been found to be one of the most cost effective and inexpensive specific control measures of preventing malaria. The study aimed at the assessment of malaria parasitemia under five-year-old children, awareness, accessibility, availability, and utilization of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) in the control and elimination of malaria in under five-year-old children (under-fives) in Ikot Ekpene, Nigeria. Blood samples were taken from a total of 450 under-fives in 250 randomly selected households and screened for malaria parasites using thin/thick blood film method. Pre-tested structured questionnaires were administered to heads of selected households. Descriptive statistics were used in analyzing the data obtained based on the stated objectives. Analysis of the blood samples showed that the prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasitemia in under-fives was 64.4% overall and 57.1 – 69.2% among the clans in the study area. The study also revealed relatively high awareness, accessibility, availability, and affordability of ITNs but low utilization of ITNs in the study area, which was attributable to some negative beliefs by the respondents. This study shows that there is a high level of malaria parasitemia among under five children in the study area in spite of high ownership of insecticide treated bed nets suggesting that there may not be proper use of insecticide treated nets for children of this age group. Interventions in this area should include strategies to encourage proper use of insecticide treated nets.
Keywords: Malaria; Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs); Utilization; Indicators; Under-fives
