Abuja, 27 April 2018 – A 3 year old boy in North Eastern Nigeria lay semi-conscious on a raffia mat. His parents grow concerned as his body is very stiff, he’s sweating profusely and his body temperature is extremely hot. In absolute panic, his father rushes him to a healthcare center and begs the doctor on duty to examine the child.

The doctor quickly examines the child, ‘’this is serious’’ he says as he reaches out to take the boy’s blood sample for a test. The child is immediately put on drip. 30 minutes later the results are ready; the child has malaria. The doctor immediately injects the child with an anti-malarial drug to stabilize the child’s condition. 4 hours later, the child’s temperature reduces, he regains consciousness, ‘’mama, papa’’ he calls out for his parent from his hospital bed. One life saved. 

Malaria is a disease caused by a parasite called P.falciparum. It is transmitted by the bite of infected mosquitoes with symptoms such as fever. If left untreated, Malaria can kill. Children and pregnant women bear the brunt of the disease as more than 70% of deaths due to Malaria are recorded among children less than five years of age.

World Malaria Day is celebrated on the 25th of April every year. The commemoration aims to create awareness on malaria prevention/control, renew political, domestic and international commitments, fight malaria and advocate for disease funding. The commemoration also affords the opportunity to bring to fore the devastating effect of malaria on families, communities and the economy. The theme for this year ‘’Ready to beat Malaria’’ underscores the collective energy and commitment of the global malaria community in uniting around the common goal of a world free of malaria and double up efforts to defeat the disease. While the disease is rare in temperate climates, malaria prevalence in tropical and subtropical countries remains a key public health challenge. 

At a ministerial press briefing to commemorate this year’s World Malaria Day, the Minister of Health Professor Isaac Adewole lamented that “it is sad that malaria still poses a major health challenge to the country and is a major cause of death of children under the age of five”. He added that government is concerned about this and is working towards additional funding to close existing gaps and move towards elimination. In his words ‘’we need to de-normalize malaria and nobody should die of malaria because malaria is preventable and treatable’’. He thanked partners such as World Health Organization (WHO), Global Fund, USAID, UNICEF, Society for Family Health adding that it is not over until it is over and working together we can end malaria.

Representing the WHO Country Representative, Dr Lynda Ozor in her speech said the control and eventual elimination of malaria requires political leadership at the highest level, as well as leadership of programmes, resource mobilization, intersectoral and cross-border collaboration. She stressed that WHO remains a technical partner to Federal Ministry of Health, and encouraged strong coordination, clear strategies and determined actions towards malaria control. ‘’We must however remain vigilant of the emerging threats of insecticide and drug resistance which have devastating potential to reverse the gains made’’ she said.

World Health Organization (WHO) has supported countries in the fight against malaria for seven decades and a lot of successes as well as challenges have been recorded but  latest WHO malaria report indicates that the world is not on track to reaching critical milestones. In 2016, Nigeria accounted for 27% of all malaria cases in the world and 52% of the cases in the West African region. There were an estimated five million more malaria cases in 2016 than in 2015 and malaria deaths stood at around 445,000.

Nevertheless increased malaria prevention and control measures are dramatically reducing the malaria burden in many places. 
With renewed political commitments, continued collaborations with development partners and high investment towards malaria prevention, control and treatment Nigeria is ready to beat malaria. 

Technical Contact:

Dr. Lynda Ozor; Email:ozorl [at] who.int (ozorl[at]who[dot]int). Tel: +234 8034020832