Nigeria must intensify malaria eradication

AFRICA has recorded a milestone in health care. It is coming from Cape Verde, which has been declared malaria-free for the first time in 50 years by the World Health Organisation. This feat is a big challenge to Nigeria to intensify its efforts to also eradicate malaria.

With requisite willpower, the right policies and well-implemented strategies by the three tiers of government and stakeholders, the scourge can be stamped out of Africa’s most populous country.

Tellingly, it took Cape Verde years to reach this point. The tiny island country off the coast of West Africa has not reported a single case of local transmission of malaria in three years. The country was focused and channelled its resources into strengthening its health systems. Crucially, it concentrated on the early detection of malaria by surveillance officers and increasing access to diagnosis and treatment of all malaria cases.

“This success reflects the hard work and dedication of countless health professionals, collaborators, communities and international partners,” Cape Verde’s Health Minister, Filomena Gonçalves, said. “It is a testimony to what can be achieved through a collective commitment to improving public health.”

The initial country in sub-Saharan Africa to be declared malaria-free was the island nation of Mauritius in 1973. Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria in North Africa achieved this status in 2010, 2012 and 2019 respectively. The reality of other countries in the continent paints a grim picture. In 2022, 580,000 people in Africa died from the disease, amounting to 95 per cent of fatalities worldwide.

Malaria symptoms have been known to be mild or life-threatening. Contracted through mosquito bites, they could range from fever, chills and headache to fatigue, confusion, seizures, and difficulty in breathing. Medical experts have pointed out that infants, children under the age of five years, pregnant women, and travellers are at risk of the complex parasite, which is spread by mosquito bites. It is a leading cause of infant and maternal mortality in Nigeria.

Four African countries account for just over half of all malaria deaths worldwide: Nigeria (26.8 per cent), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (12.3 per cent), Uganda (5.1 per cent) and Mozambique (4.2 per cent), says the WHO.

Seattle-based Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation data also points at the highest malaria death rates in Africa. Cuba, Jamaica, Argentina and the United States recorded zero malaria deaths per 100,000 citizens in 2019; Niger Republic logged 102.88 per 100,000, Nigeria 112.34, Burkina Faso 125.4, Liberia 130.78 and Ivory Coast 145.45. Brazil was 0.06 per 100,000 people and India 2.61.

Unfortunately, malaria eradication programmes in Nigeria are fraught with several constraints such as limited access to healthcare, underfunding of the health sector, poor living environmental conditions, the rising cost of medication, insufficient infrastructure and lack of oversight.

In addition to its present challenges, in July, Nigeria was excluded from the list of 12 African countries to receive 18 million doses of the malaria vaccine from 2023 to 2025. This places Nigeria in a precarious position to tackle the upsurge in malaria cases due in part to the discovery of a mosquito species known as ‘Steve’ (scientifically termed Anopheles stephensi).

Thus, there is a need for the government and stakeholders to create a blueprint to combat and eliminate malaria. Scientific research which will serve as a springboard for effective diagnosis and treatment should be revived in Nigeria’s research institutes.

Primary healthcare should be prioritised coupled with adequate surveillance methods. Citizens need to be sensitised to methods of preventing malaria. They should regularly dislodge stagnant water trapped in containers in their surroundings, clear their bushes and use chemically treated mosquito nets.