Lara Adejoro
The World Health Organisation and other stakeholders have called on the Federal Government to reduce dependence on external funding and increase data availability for malaria elimination in the country.
The appeal was made at a stakeholders’ engagement on “Rethinking Malaria Elimination”, an initiative to help redefine strategies in the fight against the disease in the country.
PUNCH reports that malaria—a life-threatening disease caused by parasites, transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes—occurs regularly and is widespread across Nigeria.
The World Health Organisation estimates that Nigeria had nearly 67 million cases in 2022 accounting for 27 per cent of the global malaria burden.
Also in 2022, Nigeria accounted for 31 per cent of global deaths and 38 per cent of global deaths in children under the age of five.
Suggesting new approaches to fighting the disease at the event in Abuja on Friday, stakeholders urged the government to accelerate its effort to eliminate malaria by increasing the funds allocated to the malaria elimination programme annually.
The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti said the organisation is behind Nigeria’s ambitious plan to accelerate progress towards malaria elimination.
She urged the government to increase data availability and access for both government agencies at national and sub-national levels and for public use.
“For Nigeria to accelerate its effort, it needs to invest more in data from local communities across the country to know exactly what is going on there.
“We need to be sure that the data we have is viable, so we need to invest, starting from the local level. This will improve efficiency and reduce fragmentation.
“We have technology today that can help us improve some of the ways we are dealing with data in the health sector. We can use data to identify the location that needs intervention. What This calls for collective intervention.”
A Senior Associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Soji Adeyi said Nigeria should begin to increase internal funding for malaria elimination.
“Each year, reliance on external funding needs to be reduced. I looked at the summary of malaria reports from 2008 till now and what has been common is the complaint has been about the lack of funding.
“If this is a recurring problem what should be done is to find a new approach,” he said.
Similarly, the National Coordinator of the unlocking healthcare value-chain initiative., Dr. Abdu Mukhtar called for the local production and manufacturing of medical supplies and for reducing the country’s dependence on drug imports.
According to him, the local production of anti-malaria and related medication will consider the peculiarity of the country’s terrain, population, and burden and will improve access to effective treatment.
Meanwhile, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Mohammad Pate admitted that more needs to be done to fight malaria in the country.
He said the country is deploying tools that are available, safe, and effective for the population to improve their health.
“This is in line with the president’s agenda. We intend to deploy all tools that can control the spread of malaria, we intend to deploy nets, testing, and treatments of malaria. We also intend to provide affordable antimalarial drugs,” he said.
Pate also disclosed that the government also intends to use political and traditional leaders and private sector leaders in the fight against malaria in remote parts of the country.
He added, “The country also needs to prioritise the use of a driven approach to accelerate progress, as well as better financing better partnerships to eliminate malaria with private organisations.”
Malaria transmission within the country is high and even higher in rural communities situated by the banks of major rivers and water bodies.
The disease is caused by tiny parasites called Plasmodium, often found in mosquitoes.
When an infected mosquito bites a person, it transfers these parasites into the bloodstream. The parasites then travel to the liver and multiply. After a few days, they re-enter the bloodstream and infect red blood cells, causing the symptoms of malaria, such as fever, chills, and flu-like illness.
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