FG plans new anti-malaria intervention programme

Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu

The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said that the National Economic Council will, this week, consider and give approval to a new intervention plan to boost the anti-malaria programme in the country.

 Chukwu stated this at a press briefing in Abuja during the ongoing special African Union Summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, where he stressed that Nigeria was refocusing its approach to malaria.

He said, “We have realised that we need to refocus. What we need to do is to focus where the problem is. There is progress, but we think that there is more to be done. It is only when we know where the gap exists that we can know where we can have targeted interventions.

“As leaders, we have shown increased commitment. Next week, I will make a presentation to the NEC on a new intervention plan on malaria for the country. It could be better, but today, nobody can accuse African leaders of not being committed.”

Meanwhile, the African Leaders Malaria Alliance confessed that a lot still needed to be done in the fight against malaria.

They said, among other challenges, how to close the 50 per cent financial gap needed for the anti-malaria war was a major problem African countries were contending with.

The Executive Director of the RollBack Malaria Programme of the World Health Organisation, Dr. Fatoumata Nafo-Traore, in an interview with journalists, added that another challenge against the war was the development of resistance to insecticides by mosquitoes.

According to her, mosquitoes that carry the malaria parasite are increasingly developing resistance to the available insecticides.

Nafo-Traore added that although extraordinary progress had been made in many African countries on malaria control, many of the countries were poor and needed financial support to roll back malaria.

She said, “$5bn to $6bn is required per year worldwide to fight malaria. The problem is worse in developing countries, especially in Nigeria. Only 50 per cent of funds needed are made available through national budgets, but mostly from donor support. More funds are needed urgently.”