30th August, 2010
A member of the Delta State House of Assembly, Mrs. Omawumi Udoh, says women in her constituency have received 6,000 insecticide-treated nets to check the scourge of malaria in Warri South.
Udoh, who told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the nets were distributed to the women in the last four years, said she had been involved in the Roll-Back-Malaria campaign in the constituency.
She said she had concluded plans to establish a sickle cell centre in Warri, adding that “we will not concentrate on giving the people drugs alone but we will also use it as an avenue to educate parents on the causes of the disease and how it can be prevented.
“The centre will also serve as a counselling outlet to the younger generations who are preparing to go into marriage.
“They will be counselled on the need to know their genotype before getting married because sickle cell is more dangerous than HIV,” the lawmaker said.
According to her, people living with HIV have the choice to live, but a child who suffers from sickle cell anaemia has little or no choice to live.
On the activities of her foundation, Omawumi Udoh Educational Foundation, Udoh said the body had been reaching out to children in a bid to educate them and make them useful to themselves and the society.
“When you give a child love, the child in return will give back peace and security to the society.
“The environment where a child grows really matters and if a child grows up in a hostile environment, that child will grow up and become hostile.