Despite the successes re­corded in the global bat­tle against malaria, the disease is still ravaging many countries, includ­ing those in sub-Saharan Africa. The World Health Organisation (WHO), during the celebration of this year’s World Malaria Day (WMD) on Mon­day, revealed that globally, about 3.2 billion people—nearly half the world’s population—are at risk of malaria. The global health agency observed that in 2015, there were an estimated 214 million new cases of disease and 438,000 deaths, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa. The latest sta­tistics show that sub-Saharan Africa has a high share of the global malaria burden. Last year’s data showed that the region was home to 88 per cent of malaria cases and 90 per cent of malaria deaths.

In Nigeria, the preliminary results of the Malaria Indicator Survey (MIS) conducted by the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) last year indicated that the prevalence had come even further down from 42 percent in 2010. Ac­cording to the Coordinator of the NMEP, Dr. Nnenna Ezeigwe, before 2000, the prevalence of malaria was well above 50 percent in most parts of the country, but by 2010, the MIS demonstrated an average prevalence of 42 percent. Ezeigwe attributed the progress the country has made in its fight against malaria to the support of the Roll Back Malaria partners, especially the Global Fund, World Bank, United States Agency for International Development (US­AID), British Department for International Development (DFID), United Na­tions Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and others.

The gloomy global picture of the disease notwithstanding, the world health body has estimated that 21 countries, including six African countries, would eliminate local transmission of malaria by 2020. In its report entitled “Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030”, the agency admitted that there has been a significant reduction in the population of children and adults dying of the disease in the last one year. It also stated that eight countries including Argen­tina, Costa Rica, Iraq, Morocco, Oman, Paraguay, Sri- Lanka and United Arab Emirates witnessed a great reduction in malaria-induced deaths.

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For African countries to meet the global targets for the elimination of the dis­ease by 2030, the Director of the WHO Global Malaria Programme, Dr. Pedro Alonso, noted that government must invest in new malaria control technologies. He observed that governments must strengthen surveillance of cases to identify gaps in coverage and be willing to take action based on received information. In all, he noted that as countries approach the elimination targets, their ability to detect every infection becomes increasingly important. He also stressed that this strategy will require an increase in global and domestic funding from $2.5 billion today to an estimated $8.7bn annually, by 2030.

We commend the global effort to eliminate malaria and urge the Nigerian health authorities to be part of the war against the disease. For Nigeria to de­feat malaria, the various tiers of government must demonstrate enough politi­cal will to adequately fund malaria prevention programmes. They should be in the forefront of the implementation of the policy on mandatory diagnosis before treatment as well as the provision of Long Lasting Insecticide Nets (LLIN) to all Nigerians, especially the vulnerable groups. Nigeria should step up the use of LLIN because despite the supposed 80 percent national coverage, there are reports that the usage is lagging below 40 percent in most parts of the country. There is need for more public education on preventive measures and the treat­ment of the disease.

All stakeholders in the country should work in concert to ensure that malaria is eliminated within the WHO global timeframe. In keeping with this year’s WMD theme, “Ending malaria for good”, all Nigerians should contribute to the effort to achieve the goal in the country.