The World Health Organisation (WHO) has called on Nigeria, and other countries affected by malaria in Africa to work with development partners to boost investments in malaria prevention and control.
The organisation also said Nigeria is yet to be listed among African countries who have made significant progress in eliminating malaria. The WHO Regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, who made the call yesterday at a press briefing in Abuja, to commemorate this year’s World Malaria Day, said this will propel countries along the road to elimination, and contribute to the achievement of other Sustainable Development Goals. Moeti, whose was represented by the WHO Country Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Wondi Alemu, further said malaria remains a major public health and development challenge, adding that the World Malaria Report 2017 documents an increase in global malaria cases.
She said: “Fourteen countries with the world’s biggest malaria problem are in Sub-Saharan Africa, which accounts for 80% of the global burden.
“These countries still account for 80 per cent of the global burden of malaria with 194 million new cases and 410,000 deaths recorded in 2016 alone.”
The WHO regional director added that many countries were not on track to achieve targets of the Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030, adding that international and domestic funding for malaria prevention and control has stagnated. Dr Moeti said the use of insecticide treated nets and indoor spraying with insecticides were key strategies in combating malaria. She said: “Over half the people at risk of malaria across sub-Saharan Africa have been sleeping under insecticidetreated nets for the past five years indicating some success in behaviour change and outreach campaigns.
“This progress needs to be sustained. Eliminating malaria requires above all political leadership at the highest level as well as leadership of programmes, resource mobilisation, intersectoral and cross-border collaboration.
“We are ready to beat malaria but the pace of progress must be accelerated to achieve a 40 percent drop in global malaria cases and deaths by 2020 compared to 2015 levels.” The theme for the 2018 World Malaria Day is: “Ready to Beat Malaria”. The theme stresses the need to accelerate efforts to defeat malaria and remind countries of their commitment to end malaria epidemic by 2030 as one of the SDGs. It would be recalled the the federal government on April 22, committed to securing $300 million from the World Bank, Islamic Development Bank and African Development Bank to eliminate malaria in the country.
The government also pledged additional $18.7 million to leverage on $37 million from the Global Fund Grant to enable it distribute 15 million mosquito nets and support local manufacturing of essential malaria commodities.
