The Federal Government has been encouraged by the World Health Organisation and various other stakeholders to decrease reliance on foreign funding and improve data accessibility for the purpose of eliminating malaria in the country. This recommendation was shared during a stakeholders’ meeting on “Rethinking Malaria Elimination” held in Abuja, aiming to revolutionise strategies in combating malaria within the nation. Nigeria is greatly affected by the widespread occurrence of malaria, a serious illness caused by parasites carried by female Anopheles mosquitoes and transmitted to humans through their bites.
According to the World Health Organisation, Nigeria was responsible for nearly 67 million cases of malaria in 2022, making up 27 percent of the global burden. Additionally, Nigeria accounted for 31 percent of worldwide deaths in 2022 and 38 percent of deaths in children under five years old. During the event, stakeholders recommended innovative strategies in combating the disease, emphasising the need for the government to enhance funding for the elimination program each year in order to expedite progress.
Good data management can help pinpoint areas in need of intervention.
On his part, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, the Regional Director for Africa at WHO, expressed support for Nigeria’s ambitious goal of speeding up the journey towards eradicating illness. She emphasised the importance of enhancing data availability and accessibility for government bodies at both national and sub-national levels, as well as for the general public. In order to speed up progress, she emphasised the importance of increasing investment in collecting data directly from communities to gain a clear understanding of the situation.
Dr. Abdu Mukhtar, the National Coordinator of the Unlocking Healthcare value-chain initiative, emphasised the importance of establishing local production facilities for medical supplies to decrease the nation’s reliance on imported drugs. He stressed that producing anti-malaria and similar medications domestically would be tailored to the specific needs of the country’s landscape, population, and health challenges, ultimately enhancing the accessibility of quality treatment options. Advanced technology in the health sector can also enable the country to upgrade data management and pinpoint areas in need of intervention. Collaboration is necessary for collective action in addressing these issues.
Nigeria should increase its domestic funding for malaria elimination.
Soji Adeyi, a Senior Associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, emphasised the importance of Nigeria increasing its domestic funding for malaria elimination. Adeyi noted that there has been a consistent lack of funding for its eradication efforts, as evidenced by reports dating back to 2008. It is crucial for Nigeria to decrease its dependence on external funding each year as it advances. He suggested that a fresh strategy should be sought if this issue continues to happen repeatedly.
While speaking, Prof. Mohammad Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, acknowledged the necessity for increased efforts to combat the challenge. He stressed using safe and effective tools to enhance the population’s health, aligning with the objectives of the president’s agenda. Their approach to combating malaria involves utilising a comprehensive set of tools, such as nets, testing, treatments, and affordable antimalarial drugs. Additionally, they plan to engage political and traditional leaders, as well as private sector leaders, to tackle it in hard-to-reach areas of the country.
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He emphasised the importance of a proactive strategy and improved funding through partnerships with private organisations to effectively combat it. The prevalence of illness is particularly high in rural areas near bodies of water, where mosquitoes carrying the Plasmodium parasite thrive. Infected mosquitoes pass on parasites through their bites, which then make their way to the liver and reproduce. Within days, they circulate back into the bloodstream and invade red blood cells, leading to malaria symptoms like fever, chills, and flu-like effects.
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