The Abia State Government has launched its 2026 Insecticide-Treated Nets (ITN) campaign, which will distribute more than three million mosquito nets to households across the state's 17 local government areas.

The campaign was officially flagged off at the JAAC Building, Ogurube Layout, Umuahia, by Governor Alex Chioma Otti, who was represented at the event by his Deputy, Engr. Ikechukwu Emetu.

Speaking through his deputy, Otti described the initiative as an important investment in public health, human capital development and productivity. He noted that malaria remains a major health threat, particularly to children under five, pregnant women and other vulnerable populations.

The governor emphasised that although insecticide-treated nets are an effective and accessible means of preventing malaria, their impact depends on households using them properly and consistently, rather than simply receiving them.

He directed healthcare workers, distribution teams, volunteers and local government officials to ensure that the exercise was transparent and equitable, with particular attention given to rural and hard-to-reach communities.

Otti also called on traditional rulers, religious leaders, town unions, women’s groups and youth organisations to mobilise residents, address misconceptions about the nets and encourage their use every night. He further urged communities to maintain proper environmental sanitation and eliminate stagnant water that could serve as mosquito breeding sites.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Enoch Ogbonnaya Uche, disclosed that malaria prevalence in Abia had declined from 14.5 per cent in 2021 to 11 per cent in 2025, attributing the improvement to sustained government interventions.

Uche also highlighted the reconstruction of 200 primary healthcare centres, 185 of which have been completed, as part of efforts to strengthen healthcare delivery across the state. He added that nearly 300,000 residents had been registered under the revived Abia State Health Insurance Agency.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, represented by Dr. Nnenna Ogbulafor, said Abia had not conducted a mass mosquito net distribution exercise on such a scale in the past 10 years.

She explained that distribution would begin on October 26 using a door-to-door approach supported by digital tracking to improve accountability. The plan provides for one net for every two people.

According to her, the campaign would also be complemented by larval source management and waste recycling initiatives supported by the World Bank.

Malaria Consortium’s West and Central Africa Programmes Director, Dr. Kolawole Maxwell, disclosed that approximately 5,000 personnel would be deployed to carry out the distribution.

He said the campaign would feature new dual-active ingredient nets containing pyrethroid and chlorfenapyr, designed to improve protection against mosquitoes that have developed resistance to certain insecticides.

Maxwell stressed that the nets are free and warned against their sale or diversion from the intended beneficiaries.

He also announced the appointment of Abia First Lady, Mrs. Priscilla Chidinma Otti, as the state's ITN Ambassador. In that role, she is expected to promote public awareness, encourage household ownership and strengthen the consistent use of mosquito nets across the state.