Why Nigeria may miss 2025 malaria elimination target

Despite huge funds being expended, coupled with the promises ongoing vaccine trials hold, Nigeria’s plan to reduce malaria prevalence and mortality to 10 percent by 2025 may join the list of government’s unachieved targets, leaving citizens susceptible to the disease that claims thousands of lives every year.

Even though health authorities claim that remarkable progress has been made in the last decade, Nigeria did not make the list of countries projected by the World Health Organisation ( WHO) with the potential to stamp out malaria by 2025.

So far, 24 countries have interrupted malaria transmission for three years or more by the end of 2020 of which 11 were certified malaria-free by WHO. The health organisation said even though each country’s elimination journey is unique, the common and key drivers of success are: strong Primary Health Care (PHC) systems that ensure access to malaria prevention; diagnosis and treatment services, without financial hardship; strong political will; robust data system and strong community engagement.

Health analysts who spoke with Businessday scored Nigeria low on these important drivers and absent in some cases, which could stall the country’s progress significantly. Findings also show that many of the 30,000 PHCS across the country are in different levels of rot.

The WHO stressed that malaria endemic countries must first demonstrate political will to drive success in all areas of endeavours.

Nigeria has in the past developed plans aimed at eliminating malaria, but has consistently missed the targets. Olufemi Babalola, President, Guild of Medical Directors said the Nigerian government has not demonstrated the needed political will.

He said, “Even if a trillion of naira is injected into fighting malaria nothing will be achieved without political will first. Nigeria can eliminate malaria even in the next two years with the right commitment and common sense measures taken. It is not rocket science, the vector is mosquito. Government and all stakeholders must ensure that the breeding ground of the malaria vectors is totally eradicated, then malaria incidence will drop”

It would be recalled that in 2008, the National Malaria

Control Programme (NMCP) set a target to reduce 50 percent of the malaria burden by 2013. Afterwards, there was the National Malaria Strategic Plan (2014-2020), with the goal to reduce the burden of the disease to pre-elimination level and bring malaria-related mortality to zero.

By the end of 2020, Nigeria was not among the countries listed by WHO that achieved the 2020 milestones of reducing malaria incidence and deaths. The listed countries are; Botswana, Ethiopia, the Gambia, Ghana, Namibia and South Africa.

Currently, there is the National Malaria Strategic Plan (NMSP 2021-2025) with the target to achieve a parasite prevalence of less than 10 percent and reduce mortality attributable to malaria to less than 50 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2025.