Maiduguri - “My fears were many when my five-year old child developed high fever in the early hours of this morning. The nearest health facility is kilometers away from my house. Besides, I have no money to provide food for my family talk more of medication, a situation  compounded by  restriction on movement as part of COVID-19 control measures”, says  Malama Aisha a 35 year old internally displaced person (IDP) in Maiduguri.

“ I heaved a sigh of relief  when my husband reminded me that there is a health provider in our community called CORPS and  I confidently walked up to his house and got my daughter treated at no cost to me. This strategy is indeed reassuring to tackle malaria in our conflict-affected state of Borno”, she adds.

Community Oriented Persons (CORPs) are community-based healthcare providers, trained, certificated and engaged by WHO to provide comprehensive package of healthcare interventions to children with including malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea at home.

With about 500 CORPs in different communities across Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states, eligible persons are provided with prompt testing and treatment for malaria as part of integrated Community Case Management (iCCM). The ICCM strategy complements efforts of the health facilities and targets children who live in hard to reach communities, without access to health facilities.

Malaria accounts for 50% of total consultations in health facilities in the north-east Nigeria. In Borno and Yobe states, WHO estimates that more than half of the morbidity and mortality are due to malaria, a proportion that is higher than all other causes combined including measles, cholera and hepatitis E. The disease kills more almost 100,000 people each year in Nigeria. Nearly one out of every three of these deaths occurs in an emergency setting within populations displaced by violence, struggling to get the food, water, shelter and security they need to live.

Along with government and partners, fighting malaria to a zero point is a priority of WHO. A combination of interventions such as seasonal malaria chemoprevention campaign, prevention using long lasting insecticide nets, prompt diagnosis and treatment will lead to attainment of this goal. With COVID-19 pandemic threatening the already weak healthcare systems in the conflict-affected north-east, WHO is committed to sustaining the achievements so far made through that campaign among other control programmes in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

To commemorate World Malaria Day (WMD) on 25 May 2020, WHO Nigeria Health Emergency Manager Dr Collins Owili explained that the fragile healthcare system in the region renders populations more vulnerable to diseases such as malaria. He reiterated that despite the focus on outbreak response, health emergencies in the north-east Nigeria will keep prioritizing malaria. In his words, “Failure to tackle malaria to a zero point would be devastating for millions of people across north-east Nigeria, especially with COVID-19 pandemic in a healthcare system that is fragile and likely to be stretched to a breaking point.”

With assistance from WHO, the Borno State Ministry of Health developed a strategy for malaria control, with the seasonal malaria chemoprevention as a critical tool for rapidly reducing malaria death and disease among young children.

In a media chat to mark 2020 WMD, Mala Waziri, the Borno State Malaria Programme Manager, emphasized the need to sustain the positive impact of malaria control interventions in Borno state despite the current resilience testing of the healthcare system by COVID-19. “From the impact assessment of the seasonal malaria chemoprevention exercise in Borno State, it is evident that the intervention has helped to reduce the incidence of malaria in households, as less cases are reported in the clinics than previously.”

Furthermore, WHO strongly encourages countries not to suspend on-going malaria control programmes including vector control activities, while ensuring that services are delivered using best practices to protect health workers and communities from COVID-19 infection. Suspending such programmes will leave many vulnerable populations at greater risk of malaria, particularly young children and pregnant women.