The Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has announced that it has adopted a sector-wide approach to eliminate malaria in Nigeria.
Recognizing the need for innovative and evidence-based interventions, the ministry aims to reimagine routine approaches and leverage newer tools, robust data systems, strategic collaborations, and smarter financing models.
The sector-wide approach
The sector-wide approach seeks to enhance governance, converge resources, align efforts, and amplify the impact on health outcomes.
- Initiatives under consideration include the development of domestic manufacturing for insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs), generic pharmaceuticals, and mosquito-repellent products.
- Strengthening the primary healthcare system is also a priority, focusing on malaria testing and early treatment, especially for vulnerable populations like children and antenatal mothers.
- Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, health minister, disclosed that the ministry is strongly supported by the federal government to retraining of 120,000 frontline health workers and doubling the number of functional primary health centers from 8,800 to over 17,000 in the next three years.
The minister revealed that the ministry recently convened a meeting with teams from the Malaria Alliance, RBM Malaria Partnership, and WHO Global Malaria Program partners to review ongoing efforts and mobilize both technical and financial resources.
What you should know
According to Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, despite over 70 years of malaria elimination programs, Nigeria still shoulders 30% of the global burden, reporting an estimated annual 68 million cases and 194,000 deaths from the disease in 2021.
Pate pointed out that Nigeria’s health sector is at a crucial moment and this sector-wide approach is a pivotal step toward saving millions of lives and achieving substantial returns on development investments in Nigeria’s health sector.
