The Pest Control Association of Nigeria (PECAN) has urged the residents of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that in their bid to control the breeding of mosquitoes, they should be wary of indiscriminate and illegal use of chemicals which could be injurious to their health.
It also informed the residents of new ways to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes which causes malaria, especially in keeping their immediate environment tidy and sanitized at all times.
Lafiya360 reports that PECAN called on the Federal Government to boost it’s efforts in environmental management and pollution, which will significantly control the breeding of mosquitoes.
The National President of the Pest Control Association of Nigeria (PECAN), Olakunle Williams, while speaking during a sensitization road walk in the FCT to commemorate this year’s World Mosquito Day, said, “20th of August of every year is a date set aside to commemorate the World Mosquito Day. Mosquito is probably the most dangerous animal in the world because of the number of people it has killed. We have joined the world today to commemorate the day by sensitizing and informing people about the dangers of allowing mosquitos to fester.
“If there is no mosquito, there will be no malaria. So, we want the people to know that getting rid of mosquitoes is preventive for malaria. We are putting in efforts to join the government from the private sector perspective in prevention.
“You have heard of larva source management, that is, making sure the drainages don’t have any container retaining water that larva could develop. We are here at the IDP camp to also help them to control mosquitoes. We are also here to let them know that there are ways they can prevent the breeding of mosquitoes on their own.
“We hope that the government will support us because we know the government is looking into going into partnership with the private sector on malaria, and we are putting ourselves forward in helping the government to achieve this goal.”
In his remarks, the National Vice President of PECAN, Abari Terungwa said, “We are creating awareness about the illegal use of pesticides, the way people treat their environment, and about pest control generally. There has been a misunderstanding of the concept of pest control.
“A lot of people think it is about just throwing chemicals in the environment. There are modern ways of doing this, and now, you see people talking about the indiscriminate use of pesticides.
“A lot of attention has to be on environmental management and pollution, to control the breeding of mosquitoes so that we can minimize the incidence of malaria scourge.”
According to the Senior Technical Assistant to the Registrar and Director, Dept. of Registration, Ethics and Standards at the Environmental Health Council of Nigeria (EHCON), Dr. Issac Adamu, “Mosquito eradication is the responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry is not resting on its oars.
We are an Agency under the Ministry of Environment, and have a special disease vector control program which is working to ensure that mosquito, among other parasites, are tamed in order not to make Nigerians unhealthy as a result of their feeding habits and their habitation
“It is very important that when we are fighting malaria in Nigeria, we need to concentrate efforts on the vector. Over the years, we have not been paying attention to the vector by directly interfering with its habitat and way of life. It is essential that we turn attention to the vector which causes not only malaria but other parasitic infections.”