Today is World Malaria Day, it is a day set aside to celebrate the war against Malaria.
The Health Minister today gave a special remark:
I am
delighted to be present at this occasion in commemoration of the 2017
World Malaria Day. As you are all aware, the World Malaria Day
celebration originated from a decision by the African heads of
government in 2000, to set aside a day to draw attention and solicit
support for the fight against malaria. Since then, 25th of April of
every year has been earmarked as the World Malaria Day celebration.
Seventeen
years later, the question that arises in the mind of everyone is “have
we made any progress in Nigeria? I can say without doubt in my mind that
we have recorded some modest achievement. For example, ownership of
insecticide treated net (ITN) has increased from 8% in 2008 (NDHS) to
69% in 2015 (NMIS). ITN use by children under 5 years has increased from
6% in 2008 (NDHS) to 44% in 2015 (NMIS). Similarly, ITN use by pregnant
women has also increased from 4.8% in 2008 (NDHS) to 49% in 2015
(NMIS).
Let
me also add that there has been an increase in Intermittent Preventive
Treatment (IPT) coverage. IPT2 coverage has increased from 5% in 2008
(NDHS) to 37% in 2015 (NMIS) while IPT3 coverage increased from 2% in
2008 (NDHS) to 19% in 2015 (NMIS). Use of parasitological tests to
diagnose malaria have also increased over time in the country. The
percentage of children under 5 who had blood taken from finger or heel
for malaria diagnosis has increased from 5% in 2010 (NMIS) to 13% in
2015 (NMIS). Progress has also been achieved in the increase use of ACTs
for the treatment of malaria from 12% in 2010 (NMIS) to 38% in 2015
(NMIS). Lastly, there has been a reduction in malaria prevalence from
42% in 2010 (NMIS) to 27% in 2015 (NMIS 2015).
These
achievements would not have been possible without the support and
contributions of our malaria partners particularly the USAID/
Presidential Malaria Initiative (PMI).
USAID/PMI
has supported long lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) distribution
through mass campaigns and routine distribution, pilot implementation of
Indoor residual spraying (IRS) and provision of antimalarial
commodities – RDTs, ACTs, SPs. They have also provided support for the
implementation of malaria in pregnancy (MIP), seasonal malaria
chemoprevention (SMC), Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilization
(ACSM), diagnosis, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) as well as
capacity building both at the national and states levels.
A
look at the indices listed earlier shows that we are still far from our
dream of malaria free Nigeria. Our current Malaria Strategic Plan which
is meant to lead us to pre-elimination, has been praised for being
focused and articulate, but it is coming at a time when the resources
for malaria control are dwindling. In addition, there are limited
resources for effective programme coordination, monitoring and
evaluation. Let me use this opportunity to thank USAID/PMI for their
invaluable support since 2011. I am aware that USAID/PMI is covering 11
States and the National Malaria Programme with a substantial investment
of about $490 million.
May
I use this occasion to solicit for more support to enable us achieve a
pre-elimination phase in 2020. Let me assure you that the Federal
Ministry of Health under my leadership will account for “every penny”
donated to this course. The Federal Government has also allocated more
resources to Malaria control programme in the 2017 appropriation.
Finally,
I congratulate the United States Embassy in Nigeria for putting
together this very unique celebration. Most importantly, as we
commemorate, I urge us all to, at the center of our discussions,
meetings and commemorations, remember Nigerians whose lives are affected
and could be lost by Malaria. I urge us all to use the event of today
as a fuel for our future actions.
Thank you and God bless you all.
