Nigeria’s Goal Of Eliminating Malaria

Nigeria joined the rest of the world to celebrate World Malaria Day on April 25th. At a press briefing to
commemorate the special day, the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, announced that the country had applied for and received approval for the RTS,S/ASO1 malaria vaccine during the most recent application window on April 18th, 2023. We hope that by the time the vaccine becomes accessible in April 2024, the fight against malaria will have advanced significantly.
April 25 signifies the yearly observance of World Malaria Day, which enhances consciousness concerning the significance of persistent financial backing and political determination towards the prevention and control of malaria. This year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has suggested the widespread administration of the RTS,S/ASO1 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine to children residing in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions that encounter moderate to high Plasmodium falciparum malaria transmission.
The designated theme for WMD 2023 is ‘Time to deliver zero malaria: invest, innovate, implement,’ which serves as a call to action to utilise existing tools and strategies to provide aid to those in the Western Pacific who require it. First introduced in 2008, the concept of WMD was inspired by Africa Malaria Day, an event held annually since 2001. The decision to rebrand the occasion was reached during the 60th session of the World Health Assembly in 2007, with the objective of acknowledging malaria’s global prevalence.
Nigeria has recognised the vaccine trials aimed at preventing clinical malaria in children aged between five and 36 months. This explanation was made by Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director-General of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). Ghana has already approved the vaccine, but Nigeria can surpass them by implementing more aggressive measures such as better funding, dogged trials, testing and revitalisation of all malaria control programmes.
The President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, urged global stakeholders to collaborate in eradicating malaria by 2030. In a statement released on April 25th, Dangote emphasized the need for joint efforts to combat the disease which has caused significant human suffering and economic damage to global productivity. He believes that urgent investment, innovation, and implementation by relevant stakeholders can effectively reduce the spread of malaria worldwide.
Our nation must lead the way in innovative research and preventive measures to combat malaria, especially considering Dangote’s challenge. Unfortunately, the lack of commitment to eradication and control programmes, corruption, incompetence, and a poor healthcare delivery system has allowed malaria to continue to spread.
Malaria is a severe illness caused by the Plasmodium parasite, which is transmitted to humans by infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Symptoms include high fever, chills, and loss of appetite. The WHO reports that it infects approximately 290 million people worldwide with malaria each year. Nigeria has the unfortunate distinction of being the country with the highest number of malaria cases and deaths in the world.
The 2021 World Malaria Report as published by the WHO establishes that Nigeria is accountable for 27 per cent of the global cases of malaria, with every one in four individuals affected. Moreover, the nation bears responsibility for 32 per cent of the worldwide deaths arising from malaria, with roughly one in three deaths being attributed to the disease. The World Malaria Day serves as an auspicious occasion to critically evaluate the strides achieved in combating this disease and to measure the level of Nigeria’s dedication towards eliminating it.
For the previous two decades, Nigeria has been endeavouring to combat malaria with varied outcomes. Despite the government’s strenuous attempts to eradicate the disease, it continues to persist as a significant source of mortality in the nation. It is imperative to acknowledge that roughly 11 per cent of maternal fatalities, 30 per cent of child mortalities, and 60 per cent of visits to healthcare facilities as outpatients are attributable to this affliction.
Malaria remains a formidable challenge in Africa, with Nigeria bearing a significant burden, notwithstanding various eradication campaigns. It is still a pressing concern, and a comprehensive strategy must be developed to counter the transmission of the ailment in the area. Currently, the World Health Organisation has endorsed 40 countries and territories as being malaria-free, with recent additions such as El Salvador (2021), Algeria (2019), Argentina (2019), Paraguay (2018), and Uzbekistan (2018).
The WHO’s Western Pacific Region has recently bestowed upon China the prestigious certification of being malaria-free, making it the first nation in the region to attain such a status in more than three decades. Notably, other countries that have been awarded with this designation consist of Australia (1981), Singapore (1982), and Brunei Darussalam (1987). In Europe, a synergistic approach involving the utilisation of insecticides, drug therapy, and environmental engineering was employed towards the eradication of malaria.
A multifaceted and multi-layered approach is necessary to eradicate and control the spread of the disease in Nigeria. Local governments must prioritise reviving and revitalising sanitary inspections, desilting and cleaning gutters, weeding bushes, preventing water stagnation, launching rigorous campaigns for vector control, and spraying pesticides to ensure community safety and health.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria imported anti-malarial drugs worth N65.98 billion and N43.47 billion in the third and fourth quarters of 2020. In the past six months, the country imported drugs worth N109.46 billion from six countries, including India, China, Germany, the US, Pakistan, and the Netherlands. Ehanire disclosed that Nigerians spent N480 billion annually on malaria treatment, prevention, and human resources.
The National Malaria Elimination Plan for 2022 is Brazil’s latest endeavour, with a goal of reducing malaria infections to less than 68,000 by 2025, eliminating all fatalities caused by the disease by 2030, and ultimately eradicating it by 2035. Similarly, we urge Nigeria to align all current initiatives, including the vaccination campaign, while engaging all levels of government, with a focus on eradicating the disease within the next decade.
There is a crucial need for an extensive educational initiative to promote the uptake of the malaria vaccination. It is noteworthy that several political and religious personalities launched a significant anti-vaccine campaign against the COVID-19 vaccine in Nigeria. Such a negative disposition should be avoided when it comes to the administration of the malaria vaccine. The approval of this vaccine represents a tangible demonstration of the government’s commitment to innovation and advancement in the fight against malaria. Thus, it is required that the forthcoming administration sustains this laudable effort.