Olapeju Otsemobor , Oluremi O. Ajayi , Bamgboye M. Afolabi *, Jerry A. Ajayi1 , Longtong G. Turshak , Bayo S. Fatunmbi and Saminu Sani
A community-based household survey was conducted to investigate the ownership and utilization of malaria control commodities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria, using a multifaceted fourphase operational research. The main objectives were to investigate access to and utilization of health services in the capital of the country, to evaluate Insecticide-treated nets (ITN)/long lasting insecticidal nets (LLIN) household coverage including ownership and usage and to assess progress towards achieving LLIN target in the FCT. A multifaceted four-phase operational research, consisting of a community-based household survey describing ownership and use of LLINs, a review of hospital records on malaria disease, the prevalence of malaria among children under the age of five years and use of sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine as intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (IPTp), was used to investigate the extent of access to health services and utilization of malaria control strategies adopted in the FCT with reference to the Roll Back Malaria initiative. Of the 585 households surveyed, only 158 (27%) reported ownership of LLINs and 427 (73%) not owning LLIN (χ² = 3.83, p < 0.05). Only 2% of adults, 7% under-fives and 19% of pregnant women, respectively slept under LLINs the night before survey. Urban under-fives were 12 times more likely to seek treatment for malaria than their semi-urban counterparts (χ² = 13.2, p = 0.0002, OR = 12.3, CI = 2.47, 61.35). There was no significant difference in the proportion of women in urban, semi-urban and rural location, who took antimalaria medication during last pregnancy or those who did not. Information, education and communication targeting health promotion on the use of LLIN in FCT could have a salutary impact on the well-being of rural, semi-urban and urban dwellers in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria
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