The prevalence rate of Malaria has witnessed a decrease in recent times, although it still remains a serious Public Health concern. According to Mr. Kenneth Maduka, Project Manager for the Malaria Consortium in Kogi, the country’s malaria prevalence dropped to 22 percent in 2021 from 23 percent recorded in 2018. Maduka disclosed this information at the Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention (SMC) briefing, which was held in Lokoja in cooperation with the Kogi Ministry of Health. He noted that the SMC campaign reached more than 28 million children in Nigeria in 2023, accounting for 52% of all reach globally.
When compared to the figures recorded in 2021, the prevalence of the disease decreased by 27% worldwide and by 16% in Kogi. The decline is linked to the effective use of Seasonal Malaria Chemotherapy medications in 2023 on children aged 3 to 59 months both domestically and internationally. Under the Kogi SMC initiative, over 6.3 million medications were administered to 1.2 million children in Kogi alone between the ages of three and 59 months in 2023.
Scaling up malaria control programs has been essential.
With a focus on preventing the disease, SMC involves the provision of a combination of sulphadoxine, pyrimethamine, and amodiaquine (SPAQ) to children aged 3 to 59 months through the rainy season. This project has kickstarted in Kogi since 2021, as part of the State Malaria Elimination Programme (SMEP), which is backed by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Malaria Consortium, and other partners. Kogi strives to surpass its SMC targets in the August and September cycles of 2024. The state government’s strong support and the participation of nearly 14,000 staff members from 747 healthcare facilities have contributed to the project’s success.
Across the country, malaria-related mortality has also decreased, even as the country continues to have the greatest number of infections and deaths related to the disease on a global scale. The fatality rate from the disease decreased by almost 30% between 2010 and 2021. Scaling up malaria control programs has been essential in achieving these reductions. The number of children under five who slept beneath an insecticide-treated net (ITN) climbed from 29% in 2010 to 51% in 2020, while the spread of ITNs improved from over 60% coverage in 2010 to over 80% in 2020.
R21 vaccination is a highly promising development.
Moreover, the emergence and increased adoption of Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) has boosted the precision of malaria diagnosis, allowing for more focused therapy and improved disease management. Between 2010 and 2020, the proportion of suspected cases of malaria that were confirmed by diagnostic tests rose from 15% to approximately 80%. Nigeria continues to be responsible for a sizable share of the disease-related fatalities and cases, especially in children under five, despite these efforts. However, the nation is still dedicated to lowering the mortality rate from malaria down to less than 50 per 1,000 live births and lowering the prevalence of malaria to less than 10% by 2025.
While the country has received substantial support from international organizations, the World Health Organisation and other stakeholders have urged the Nigeria government to reduce dependency on foreign funding and enhance data accessibility in order to eradicate the disease in the nation. A highly promising recent development is the ongoing distribution of the R21 malaria vaccine. In trials carried out, the WHO-recommended R21 vaccination has shown up to 80 percent protection against the disease in young children. This puts it among the best malaria vaccinations ever created.
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On May 24, 2024, UNICEF delivered over 43,000 doses of the R21/Matrix-M Malaria Vaccine to Bangui, Central African Republic, with additional 120,000 doses delivered in the following few days. This is the first nation to take delivery of the R21 malaria vaccine for use as part of a regular childhood vaccination program. As Nigeria anticipates the delivery of this vaccine, it is expected to be extremely important in further lowering the incidence of the disease, particularly when used in conjunction with other current interventions like insecticide-treated nets and anti-malaria medications.