Pupils trained on eradicating malaria

The world has spent decades fighting to eradicate malaria, and has formally committed to doing so by 2030. But despite the remarkable progress that has been made, the emergence of insecticide-resistant mosquitoes and drug-resistant strains of the disease itself show that much work remains to be done.

A humanitarian organisation, has trained some secondary school pupils in Ogun State on ways to prevent Malaria, as part of its effort to eradicate deadly diseases in the state.

The training organized by Mace Club of Nigeria, held at the Abeokuta Grammar School, Idi -Aba, Abeokuta, Ogun State Nigeria had in attendance pupils from the six schools that qualified for the grand finale of the organisation’s debate and quiz competition.

The participating secondary schools included Taidob College, Asero, Abeokuta; Baptist Boys High School, Saje, Abeokuta; Remo Secondary School, Sagamu; Mayflower Secondary School, Ikenne; Methodist School, Arigbajo, Ifo and Alaba Lawson Royal College, Abeokuta.


After the exercise, Taidob College, emerged the winner of the seventh edition of the Mace Club of Nigeria Annual Roll-back Malaria Inter-School Essay, Quiz and Debate Competition.

The school scored 36 percent, while the runner-up, Mayflower Secondary School, Ikenne, scored 34 percent.

Baptist Boys High School, Saje, Abeokuta emerged second runner- up with 33 percent, while Remo Secondary School, Sagamu took the fourth position with 31.3 percent.

Also, Alaba Lawson Royal College, Kuto, Abeokuta came fifth with 29 percent, followed by Methodist High School, Arigbajo, Ifo, with 24 percent.

The President of the club, Mace Sina Oyejobi, said the training was established to teach the pupils how to identify the danger posed by malaria and other deadly diseases.

Oyejobi said the organisation was saddled with the responsibility of assisting Nigerians through humanitarian activities.

He said “The need to initiate this competition is basically to expose the younger generation of the danger that the malaria scourge poses to humanity, especially to the Sub-Sahara African Countries where it is the highest killer disease, and also to promote and encourage the reading culture and the use of English."

Meanwhile, the representative of Roll Back Malaria, Olamide Adeyinka commended the organisers of the training for holding the event at such a critical time.

She said that malaria, which she described as a deadly disease, could be prevented if Nigerians kept their surroundings neat and tidy.

“This is beyond competition, you have to cultivate the habit of keeping your body and the environment neat at all time. Make sure you see your doctor before talking any pills,” Adeyinka said.