World Malaria Day: CCSI Urges Investment in Human Capital

For Nigeria to meet its Sustainable Development Goals obligations of eliminating malaria by 2030, government must focus on building capacity of the Nigerian people to empower them set overcome barriers and social norms preventing adopting malaria preventable practices.

The Executive Director, Centre for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI), Mrs. Babafunke Fagbemi made this known in Abuja yesterday on the occasion of the world malaria day.

Fagbemi said Nigeria should focus on building capacity where it matters the most because social norms are barriers to people taking up practices that would make Nigeria malaria-free.

She said Nigeria should use results of research to design effective campaigns that would target the root causes of the social barriers and that would resonate with the people.

“To eradicate malaria, Nigeria should focus on building capacity where it matters the most; its humans. Empower them to be able to set aside social norms that prevent them from adopting recommended practices for a malaria free country. This would help in breaking barriers in knowledge, perceptions and would go a long way in changing behaviour.

“In addition, to maximize resources, we should use results of research to design effective campaigns that will target the root causes and resonate with the audience,” she said.

Nigeria currently carries the highest burden of malaria with about 30 percent of the global malaria cases. About half of the world is still at risk of malaria which is preventable and treatable but still kills a child every other minute.