Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, has called for a review of the country’s malaria control strategies.
He made the statement during a visit to Abuja on Friday by Malaria Alliance, RBM Malaria Partnership, and Nigerian WHO Global Malaria Programme officials.
He claimed that despite decades of efforts to combat malaria, the country had made little progress.
Pate stated that Nigeria bears 30% of the global malaria burden, with 68 million cases and 194,000 deaths each year, prompting a call for urgent intervention strategies.
“Despite over 70 years of implementing malaria-eradication programmes, Nigeria continues to face a high malaria burden.
“As of 2021, the country accounted for 30% of the global burden, with an estimated 68 million cases and 194,000 deaths each year,” he lamented.
The minister advocated for a thorough review of current approaches to combating the public health crisis.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu supports initiatives to retrain health workers and improve primary health care facilities as part of the Health Sector Renewal Investment Programme.
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“Strong collaboration with partners like the Malaria Alliance, RBM Partnership, and WHO Global Malaria Programme is critical to success,” he stated.
With the necessary political will, human resources, and partnerships in place, the minister expressed confidence in the country’s ability to reverse the tide of malaria and save millions of lives.
Credible News reports that Malaria is primarily transmitted through contact with infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.
These mosquitoes typically bite between dusk and dawn. Once infected, the mosquitoes can transmit the malaria parasite (Plasmodium) to humans through their bites.
As stated by WHO, prevention strategies for malaria include: Sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets, applying insect repellents and spraying insecticides indoors and taking antimalarial drugs before, during, and after travel to malaria-endemic areas.
The strategies also include eliminating mosquito breeding sites, such as stagnant water; engaging communities in malaria prevention efforts and early diagnosis and treatment of malaria cases to prevent further transmission and severe complications.
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