NIGERIA: The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that Nigeria is responsible for 31.9 percent of malaria-related fatalities worldwide, as it observes World Malaria Day this year (WMD). The organization went on to say that almost 200,000 people died in 2021 and roughly 60 million people were affected by the disease.
In response to the theme of this year’s World Malaria Day, ‘Harness innovation to reduce the malaria disease burden and save lives,’ WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, expressed his concern that, despite efforts to reduce malaria’s spread in Africa, Nigeria continues to lose vast sums of money year after year in the fight against the deadly virus.
The theme for this year, according to Moeti, is appropriate since it will aid in the development of new methods to combat the spread of the malaria virus. In order to construct a dependable and capable healthcare center, he also requested access to malaria prevention measures.
“Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, great progress has been made in the prevention and control of malaria over the world. This is as a result of people’s efforts to use the first malaria vaccine prescribed by the World Health Organization,” Moeti remarked.
The vaccine is intended to prevent malaria in children aged six months to five years who are particularly vulnerable to malaria-infected areas.
However, Moeti stated that in 2021, around 200,000 Nigerians died and 61 million people were affected. Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Tanzania, and Mozambique, on the other hand, accounted for half of all malaria deaths worldwide.
To stop the disease from spreading further, Moeti asked for more funding, more technologies, and new approaches such as diagnostics and antimalarial medications.
“Despite the WHO’s efforts to achieve the 2030 targets of the global malaria plans, progress appears to be slow, particularly in countries with high malaria loads, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, as such, urgent action is required,” Moeti said.
World Malaria Day (WMD) is a day set aside by the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness of the mosquito-borne disease and assess efforts to prevent, treat, control, and eliminate the disease, which has caused 602,020 deaths in Africa last year.
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