The Nation Newspaper

Tag: malaria

  • Help us NASS, we have Malaria

    A few days ago at the National Assembly, President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2016 budget of N6trillion. That event couldn’t have gone without certain flips and flops: it was the President’s first time, and he didn’t know that he had to bow to the duo of the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House, and thereafter bow to the legislators. There were some Senators who slept right through the President’s presentation but what made headlines was that there were certain broken seats in the hall where the President made his budget presentation. Why the National Assembly cannot fix broken seats in the house beat most of us especially against the backdrop of a curious piece of information that the National Assembly have spent as much as N4.2billion out of the N227billion it was allocated in 2015 for the purchase of brand new cars for its new members. Yes folks, that figure is correct because my source for that information was from Eze Onyekpere in his policy brief, National Assembly and the cost of governance. According to Onyekpere, the actual figure allocated to the National Assembly for 2015 by the RMARC is N120billion but if you add the cost of erecting the National Institute for Legislative Studies (N6billion), the National Assembly Clinic (N1billion), together with a lot of miscellaneous costs, the same runs true for the figure above. From Onyekpere’s document, it is clear that from year 2000, the budget of the National Assembly increased from N29billion to N227billion in 2015. Now whether or not the National Assembly is deserving of such a budget in a Nigeria where the cost of living for the average Nigerian shoots up astronomically is something I refuse to comment on. Whether or not the National Assembly is deserving of such a budget in a Nigeria where human and physical development remains one of the lowest in Africa is for us all to talk about.

    But there are other issues which arise from having a National Assembly that has a budget of N227billion, and from having only N221billion allocated to the entire health ministry from the N6trillion recently announced by the President. Such issues arise from the realization that in the whole of the West African sub-region, Nigeria is the one country where all the funds for Insecticide Treated Nets, ITNs, for children in primary and secondary schools, are not from domestic funds but come from international donations. From 2011 to 2013, countries like Cape Verde, Algeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have collaborated with the World Health Organisation WHO to contribute something from their purses for anti-malarial treatment. South Africa does not receive any international contribution for anti-malarial treatment for children. As a matter of fact, I know of a certain South African organisation which distributes an anti-malarial drug for children on the African continent free of charge. Even though a lot of these donations and contributions may have certain unseen pecuniary gains attached to them, they underscore the fact that malaria is still a big issue in Nigeria, and especially with children. World Malaria Report 2013 has it that over 300,000 children under the age of five die from malaria every year. If that infomation is correct, it means that every minute in Sub Saharan Africa, and Nigeria in particular a child is likely to die from a disease as preventable as malaria.

    What is needed to prevent malaria from killing our children is money. We need money for insecticide treated nets. We need money for safe and clean neighbourhoods. Nigeria needs a lot of the monies that are lying fallow at the National Assembly. And at a time like this in Nigeria when everybody is conscious of the fall in the price of oil, and at a time when the administration of President Buhari is considering the application of zero-based budgeting for capital projects and for recurrent expenditure, I do not see the rationale in the bogus allowances that members of the National Assembly and indeed every office at the three arms of government collect. In theory and practice, a zero-based budget does not take into cognizance that you were once a beneficiary of a certain amount of money. What is gorgeous about the concept of zero-based budgeting is that it operates from a zero-baseline, and ignores the fact that you once got N20million because a certain statute says so. If you need that N20million this year, then it behoves on the institution that wants to collect that amount of money to do a line by line analysis of what it actually needs that amount of money for. In the final analysis today, and in the face of the fact that a Nigerian child dies of malaria every minute because there is no money to buy vaccines for children, can the National Assembly truly convince itself that it still needs furniture, vehicle maintenance, wardrobe, entertainment, recess and domestic staff allowances? The annual salary of a Senator is just a little above N2million; but it is the allowances for a single senator, running into more than N400million annually each for the 109 Senators, and nearly a billion annually for the 360 members of the House of Representatives that run the bills as highly as they do.

    In his recommendations in the executive Summary of National Assembly and the cost of governance, Eze Onyekpere said that he would like for the NASS to continue to be a full-time job whilst the bicameral federal legislature should be retained. I agree. The National Assembly is the arm of government that checks the executive. Without it our democracy would be armless. But because we would need a lot of the money being used to maintain our Senators and MPs for children dying of malaria and other diseases, I’d rather that participation and membership of the National Assembly be voluntary and un-paid for. The Salaries they can keep but the allowances we need for malaria treatment for our children with malaria.

    • Etemiku writes from Benin City

  • ‎New malaria test represent medical change, says expert

    The newly launched Urine Malaria Test (UMT) is said to represent medical change, that is a new way of managing malaria in the country.

    Hence, it is expected to play a major role in the country national guideline, which stipulates test before treatment.

    UMT, which is a new initiative on test for malaria, using urine was recently launched in Lagos and Abuja.

    The UMT is developed by Fyodor Biotechnologies does does not require use of blood invasion unlike existing rapid diagnostic test for malaria.

    Speaking on the gains of the new technology, Dr. Eddy Agbo, chairman of Fyodor said there is no more guest work in the treatment of malaria with the latest breakthrough.

    He explained that based on recombinant antibody technology which searches for malaria parasite in urine sample, and the strip indicates its presence.

    “There should be no guesswork by any health provider as to whether a patient has malaria or not,” he added.

    “We have a game changer in our hands.” UMT has taken seven years in the making, and involved Johns Hopskins University, University of Maryland and University of Nigeria, Nsukka in discovery, clinical development and analysis.”

    He also noted that the UMT could be described as changing the way we do things, especially the way we manage malaria.

    ” So, this is for us, medical change. we are advocate for change, doing things differently in improved manner. We can’t be doing the same thing and expect a different result. So, the idea is for to be part of bringing new and improved way of treating malaria,” Agbo further added.

    He also stressed that going forward, UMT will become mainstream soon in compliance with national guidelines to test before treatment for malaria.

    He said over 2000 people took part in the clinical trials for the test, in what could be considered the “first fullscale clinical trial for a medical product ever undertaken in Nigeria.”

    Speaking at the launch of UMT in Abuja recently, Dr. Victoria Enwemadu, Fyodor’s global head of projects, said “There are some challenges with adopting that (national malaria testing) guideline mainstream because of the invasiveness of trying to get blood for testing. Now we have made it easier by just using urine to test for malaria.”

    The UMT includes a strip that is dipped into urine sample for 25 minutes to give results which can be read as positive, negative or valid, when compared against a control.

  • Urine test kit for malaria

    A 25-minute do-it-yourself Urine Malaria Test (UMT) kit has been unveiled in Lagos by Fyodor Biotechnologies Nigeria Ltd, a subsidiary of Fyodor Biotechnologies Corps, United States (US).

    The kit, marketed  by Geneith Pharmaceuticals Nigeria Ltd,  is the first- ever non-blood malaria test kit that will tell in less than 25 minutes if a fever is caused by malaria or not.

    The technology, according to the company, requires a few drops of urine without any reagent or equipment.

    The Chief Executive Officer, Fyodor Biotechnologies Corps, Mr. Eddy Agbo, said despite the huge success recorded in the fight against malaria, it remains the single most deadly disease across the world.

    Malaria, he said, affects about 3.2 billion people in 97 countries.

    Agbo said half a million people die of malaria yearly, stressing that most malaria deaths occur within 48 hours of fever onset and children under-five years are particularly vulnerable.

    “Fever is a sign of malaria, but many other diseases can also present with fever. So, prompt accurate diagnosis is critical before initiating treatment,” he said.

    He said the UMT was the first to have its clinical trial and validation done in the country.  ”It is a one step, no blood, no reagent, no equipment, read by eyes, which performs equivalently with malaria rapid blood tests.

    “The UMT is a simple dipstick test that uses immunochromatographic technology to detect malaria proteins shed in the urine of persons with fever due to malaria. The test process is simple: add patient urine into sample cup provided in kit; dip and leave UMT strip in the sample for 25 minutes; read result: one line indicates no malaria and two lines indicate malaria,” he said.

    Agbo said UMT will enable healthcare providers to follow national and international guidelines of test before treating malaria.

    Besides, it is suitable for public and private healthcare setting.

    “Fyodor has worked closely with many collaborators and partners to ensure that the UMT undergo full-scale pivotal clinical trial. Pre-clinical and clinical validation studies were conducted in partner with College of Medicine, University of Lagos; University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital; Johns Hopkins University United States; Duke University USA; the Federal Ministry of Health and National Malaria Elimination Program; Lagos State Ministry of Health and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control,” he said.

  • Beauty queen fights malaria in Anambra schools

    Beauty queen fights malaria in Anambra schools

    The reckoned that it was not enough to be a queen and have everybody dote on her. That informed the decision by Miss Goodluck 2015, Southeast Zone Jennifer Okorie to take her anti-malaria campaign to schools in Anambra State.

    The institutions she visited were Demonstration Nursery and Primary School, Ifite Awka and Be Good Academy, Agu-Awka.

    Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Reforms Programme (WSSSRP), the beauty queen’s initiative, was represented by Mrs. Chioma Samuel who talked on the importance of hand-washing.

    •Miss Goodluck 2015, Southeast Zone Jennifer Okorie with pupils during her campaign against malaria in Anambra State
    •Miss Goodluck 2015, Southeast Zone Jennifer Okorie with pupils during her campaign against malaria in Anambra State

    Okorie told the pupils what malaria is all about, how it spreads, signs and symptoms and the prevention.

    Some of the symptoms, according to the beauty queen, included profuse sweating, malaise, constant headache, confusion, loss of appetite, diarrhea, cough, anemia among others.

    She said, “The parasite is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected female Anopheles species mosquitoes. The parasites multiply in the liver and the bloodstream of the infected person.”

    “The parasite may be taken up by another mosquito when it bites an infected person. The mosquito is then infected for the duration of its life and can infect other humans when it bites them”

    “Occasionally malaria is transmitted by blood transfusion”

    “For this reason, people who have travelled to countries where malaria occurs may be deferred from giving blood for a short period. Malaria can also be transmitted from a mother to her foetus,” she said.

    Mrs. Chioma said, “Kids don’t always listen when parents tell them to wash their hands before eating, after using the bathroom, or when they come inside from playing. But it’s a message worth repeating— hand washing is by far the best way to prevent germs from spreading and to keep kids from getting sick. Germs can spread in many ways, including: touching dirty hands, changing dirty diapers, through contaminated water and food, through droplets in the air released during a cough or sneeze, on contaminated surfaces, through contact with a sick person’s body fluids”

    “When kids come into contact with germs, they can unknowingly become infected simply by touching their eyes, nose, or mouth. And once they’re infected, it’s usually just a matter of time before the whole family comes down with the same illness”

    “Good hand-washing is the first line of defence against the spread of many illnesses, from the common cold to more serious infections, such as meningitis, bronchiolitis, the flu, hepatitis A, and most types of infectious diarrhoea.

    “Although people around the world clean their hands with water, very few use soap to wash their hands because soap and water for hand-washing might be less accessible in developing countries. Even when soap is available, it might be reserved primarily for laundry and bathing instead of for hand-washing. Washing hands with ‘soap removes germs much more effectively.

    “Millions of children under the age of 5 years die from diarrheal diseases and pneumonia, the top two killers of young children around the world. Hand-washing is not only simple and inexpensive, but remarkably, hand-washing with soap can dramatically cut the number of young children who get sick. Hand-washing with soap could prevent about 1 out of every 3 episodes of diarrheal illnesses and almost 1 out of 6 episodes of respiratory infection like pneumonia.”

    The principal of Be Good Academy, Mrs. Philo Enemuoh appreciated the queen and her crew on their efforts in reaching out to the children on what she described as killing disease.

    One of the students Kenechukwu Okafor, told The Nation that some of the things they did not know about malaria were taught them by the people.

    She said they were grateful to the beauty queen for the lecture and closeness she had with them, adding that some of them had learnt a lot during the exercise.

     

  • Ecobank, Global Fund, fight Malaria with $3m

    Ecobank, Global Fund, fight Malaria with $3m

    Ecobank and the Global Fund are in financing partnership programme to enable the fight against malaria, tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS. The programme is designed to strengthen the financial management skills of the scheme implementers in Nigeria, South Sudan and Senegal.

    Ecobank has pledged $3 million towards the scheme.

    During the second phase of the programme, which officially kicked off in Abuja yesterday, six non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which battle TB and HIV/AIDS in Nigeria will receive extensive onsite training over the next 12 weeks.

    Head of HR, and CEO of the Ecobank Foundation, Julie Essiam, said: “This unique partnership demonstrates the commitment of African institutions like Ecobank using their own resources and knowledge to make a significant contribution to the sustainable development across Africa. Aligned to our vision & mission to develop Africa, at Ecobank, we help develop the communities we serve.”

    Technical training will be delivered by Ecobank Nigeria and through the placement of Accounting for International Development (AfID) consultants, who are all members of the Nigerian Diaspora taking time off to volunteer on this specific project.

  • ‘Jigawa achieves malaria reduction’

    Malaria in Jigawa State has reduced from over 80 per cent to less than 20 per cent.

    The Director of Primary Health Care (PHC), Dr. Kabiru Ibrahim, who addressed reporters in Dutse yesterday, said the reduction followed proactive measures by the Ministry of Health and the National Malaria Booster Control Project.

    He said the Health ministry, in conjunction with the National Malaria Booster Project, disbursed five million mosquito- treated nets.

    Dr. Ibrahim said: “The government policy of making malaria drugs available and affordable in health institutions has increased malaria control.

    “Besides making the drugs available and ensuring public enlightenment and campaign on the importance of using mosquito-treated nets, it is also the easiest and cheapest malaria control.

    “This and other professional measures taken by the primary health care have assisted us to achieve reduction in malaria.”

    The PHC director said the state had recorded success in its campaign for polio eradication, as it went 33 months without recording a case of the virus.

    He said in the last round of immunisation, over 1.2 million children were immunised against polio virus.

    Ibrahim attributed the success to the efforts of stakeholders.

    He said: “I praise traditional rulers and the media, who played a vital role in enlightening the people to bring out their children and wards for immunisation.

    “Our target is to consolidate our technical supervision, quality delivery and team performance to ensure the success is maintained.”

     

     

  • Scientists restate commitment to malaria fight 

    Scientists are seeking ways to control malaria – a killer disease.

    They spoke at the 50th anniversary of the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) in Lagos, titled: Malaria: A neighbour to be conquered.

    They reiterated their commitment to the fight against the ailment.

    The Chief Medical Director (CMD), Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Prof Wale Oke, described the disease as man’s greatest enemy, adding that it was because of the disease that the sub-Saharan region was called the “white man’s grave” in the colonial era.

    “Malaria is the most dangerous disease in the world,” he said.

    Oke said the arrival of HIV/AIDS put malaria to the background, adding that the latter kills more people than the former.

    Besides, some people are seen to be resistant to the HIV virus. The same cannot be said of malaria, he added.

    Malaria, he said, can be controlled, adding: “Where there is a will, there is a way.”

    The anniversary chairman, Prof Oluyemi Akinloye, said the disease places a huge economic burden on the country as over N132 billion is lost yearly to it.

    This, he said, exists despite science and research on its trail for many years.

    He said malaria is a systemic disease, which affects everything else in the body.

    A malariologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Prof Wellington Oyibo, said malaria is still at the control stage in Nigeria, adding: “It is endemic in over 50 per cent of the country.”

    He said parasitic elimination is important, adding that laboratory scientists have a role to play to ensure that.

    The tropical disease specialist said eliminating the parasite would ensure that overcome early and late treatment failure.

    Oyibo identified complex parasites and vector issues; poor knowledge and non-compliance with the intervention strategies, such as long lasting insecticide nets (LLINs) and case management, among others as challenges.

    He called for better funding for malaria control, adding that the health system should be functional.

    Oyibo said 55 countries are on track to reduce malaria burden, adding that 216 clinical cases were reported across the world last year.

    “Last year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says 97 countries suffer ongoing malaria transmission: 3.2 billion people were at risk. 19x million cases were reported globally,” he said.

    He said no fewer than 90 percent of malaria deaths occurred in Africa

    The chairman, organising committee, Mr Gbolahan Kabiawu, said malaria control is everybody’s responsibility.

    He said AMLSN is training its personnel across three levels on malaria diagnosing.

    He said awareness is being created to ensure accurate diagnosis of the disease. “We have been collaborating with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR) and malariologists to conduct research to determine species of mosquitoes causing malaria,” Kabiawu said.

    Besides, the Lagos State Government since 2006 constituted a committee on malaria control.

    AMLSN Public Relations Officer (PRO), Mr Olumide Fadipe, people must be sensitised to know the necessary control measure/ precautions.

    “The use of Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) is important in treating the disease,” he said

  • Malaria: Global leaders call for increased financing

    As global leaders gather in Addis Ababa for the 3rd International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD), the malaria community has outlined a vision for a malaria-free world and, in order to achieve it, called for increased investment in malaria control and elimination efforts around the world to bring an end to this costly scourge. A special side event titled Malaria Financing for a New Era: An Exceptional Case for Investment was convened by H.E. Prime Minister HailemariamDessalegn of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, as host country of the conference and Chair of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance. Government leaders, UN officials and development stakeholders highlighted malaria as a cost-effective investment for development and urged greater commitment to build on the unprecedented progress seen under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This call comes just months before the UN Member States plan to adopt a new set of Global Goals for Sustainable Development which calls for malaria elimination by 2030.

    H.E. Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn said, “I am now convinced more than ever before that we can achieve our ambitious goal and eliminate malaria from our continent.”

    With greater coordination and increased financing, malaria has been one of the great success stories of the MDG era, with more than 6 million deaths projected to have been averted between 2000 and 2015, primarily of children less than five years old in sub-Saharan Africa. In that period, globally there has been a 58% decline in mortality.

    Yet more than half of the world’s population remains at risk of malaria infection, representing an alarming threat to global development. The disease is still endemic in 97 countries and territories around the world. Each year, malaria costs the African continent alone an estimated minimum of US $12 billion in lost productivity, and in some high-burden countries it can account for as much as 40% of public health expenditure.

    During this special session on financing for malaria elimination, leaders also presented a new strategic vision toward malaria elimination, outlined in the World Health Organization’s Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016-2030, which was previously approved by the World Health Assembly and lays out the technical strategy needed to continue driving down the burden of malaria, and the Roll Back Malaria (RBM)

    Partnership’s  Action and Investment to defeat Malaria 2016-2030 (AIM) – for a malaria-free world,  which charts the investment and collective actions needed to reach the 2030 malaria goals. Together, these complementary documents provide the technical guidance and a framework for action and investment to achieve ambitious malaria elimination targets and unlock unprecedented economic potential in communities around the world.

    “As we move toward a new set of global goals for sustainable development, we have an unprecedented opportunity to put an end to the global threat of malaria once and for all,” said Mr. Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General. “And we have the strategic vision to do so, as outlined in WHO’s Global Technical Strategy for Malaria and the Roll Back Malaria Partnership’s Action and Investment to Defeat Malaria.”

    Malaria control has long been proven to be one of the most cost-effective public health investments.  With more countries around the world shifting their focus to ambitious elimination targets for the first time in history, and new regional commitments to malaria elimination announced in the Americas, Eastern Mediterranean, Asia Pacific and Africa, experts estimate that the return on investment will only continue expanding. Analysis in the AIM document suggests that the global return on investment in malaria elimination by 2030 could reach a staggering 40:1, rising to an unprecedented 60:1 return on investment if malaria is eliminated in sub-Saharan Africa alone.

    “Investing in malaria is one of the best buys in global health,” said Ray Chambers, the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Financing the Health MDGs and for Malaria.  “As a businessman, I would urge every country to look at financing malaria control as an investment that will generate real returns as a key driver of growth, not as a cost.”

    During this financing for malaria event, leaders highlighted the importance of both continued financing by the international donor community and increased domestic financing by affected countries, noting the need for these to be supplemented by innovative financing mechanisms that encourage deeper participation and investment by the private sector and which could include trust funds and malaria-related bonds.

    “The next five years will be critical to get us on the right path to achieve the 2030 targets. We must close the funding gaps and double current malaria financing by 2020,” said Dr. FatoumataNafo-Traoré, Executive Director of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership.  “The amount is ambitious, but the investment carries a significant return and could save over 10 million lives, avert nearly 3 billion malaria cases and unlock over US $4 trillion in additional global economic output across the 2016-2030 timeframe.”

    For the first time in history, the possibility of eliminating the scourge of malaria from the world is before us. It demands vision, courage, investment and patience over the next 15 years which would lead to faster reduction in poverty and accelerated economic development, enhanced educational attainment and vastly improved  national systems to respond effectively to health security threats.

  • Malaria misdiagnosis common, says don

    A don at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi Araba, Lagos, Dr Wellington Oyibo, has said malaria is often misdiagnosed by people in Nigeria.

    Oyibo, who spoke at a workshop organised by Malaria No More in Lagos, said no fewer than 300 diseases have similar symptoms like malaria.

    Malaria, he said, can only be diagnosed by using rapid diagnostic test (RDT), adding: “Fever is the only way the body reacts when there are external factors in the body. Pneumonia, malaria and gastroenteritis; among other diseases can cause fever but the RDT would show if it is malaria or not.”

    Oyibo said chloroquine is not a recommended malaria drug despite being sold in the market, saying: “Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy (ACT) remained the ideal therapy for malaria treatment.”

    He said there was a policy since 2005 that people should not use chloroquine, stressing that it is a malpractice to use it.

    Oyibo said the capacity to test for malaria is just growing in Nigeria, adding: “There is communication gap.”

    He said commodities for malaria control are expiring where they are kept because people are not using them.

    The country, he said, is moving towards getting a vaccine, adding that the RTSS vaccine has gone through the clinical trials and it should be approved soon.

    He said the vaccine would bring hope to malaria prevention, especially in protecting. “However, there is still much to be done for it to be desirable,” he said.

    The expert charged the Federal Government to provide policy and guidance, adding that public-private partnership (PPP) was very critical to malaria control.

    “The state governments should take full responsibility for malaria control. Also, advocacy and communication are necessary for effective control of the disease,” he said.

    The health system, Oyibo said, is weak, adding that this impacts on the health status.

    He said about N132 billion is lost in the economy because of malaria attacks yearly.

    This, he said, is alarming despite the preventable and curable nature of the disease.

    “Over 90 per cent of malaria infections in Nigeria are caused by plasmodium falciparum carrying anopheles mosquitoes, which is most dangerous,” he said.

    He said malaria can cause continuous abortion in expectant mothers, adding that it may also cause stillbirth.

    “Expectant mothers may not have fever because the parasite goes into the placenta to attack the foetus. Sometimes, malaria kills the mother and the baby in uterus,” he said.

    The don said malaria figures are coming down but a lot still has to be done because the disease happens differently in different places.

    He said Nigeria is still controlling the disease, adding: “We are still reducing the disease burden to a level at which it is no longer a public health problem.”

    His words: “At least 80 per cent of targeted population should utilise appropriate preventive measures by 2020. Also, we should be able to expand universal access and increase the use of insecticide treated materials (ITM) and indoor residual spray (IRS) as well as expanding the larviciding and intermittent preventive therapy (IPT) in expectant mothers”.

    National Coordinator, National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Nnenna Ezeigwe identified lack of fund as a major obstacle to malaria control.

    She said 97 per cent of people are at risk of the disease in the country, adding:  “Nigeria accounts for a quarter of malaria burden in Africa. Under-five mortality is 201 out of 1000 in 2003; in 2006, it is 157 in 1000 while that of 2013 is 128 in 1000.

    “Malaria is responsible for 30 per cent of childhood mortality; 11 per cent of maternal mortality and out-patient attendance. Only 30 per cent of under-5 receives treatment within 24 hours.”

    Ezeigwe said 50 per cent of the population has malaria episode yearly, stressing that the disease is still a public health problem in Nigeria.

  • USAID to spend N15bn on malaria prevention in Nigeria

    USAID to spend N15bn on malaria prevention in Nigeria

    The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), said it would spend about N15 billion (75 million dollars) for the prevention of malaria in selected states of the country this year.

    Ms. Josephine Kamara, USAID’s Senior Development Outreach and Communications Specialist, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday that the project was being funded under the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI).

    Kamara said that since the inception of project in Nigeria in 2011, the government had committed about 345 million dollars to malaria control.

    “The U.S. President Malaria Initiative (PMI) provides funding annually for malaria control in Nigeria. The current budget for 2015 is 75 million dollars.

    “Since the inception of PMI in Nigeria in 2011, the total funds the U.S. government has committed for malaria control is about 345 million dollars.

    “The budget includes cost of procurement of nets, diagnostics test kits and medicines,’’ she said.

    Kamara said that Sokoto, Bauchi, Kebbi and Nasarawa States had in 2013 and 2014 benefited from the nets, while Benue, Ebonyi, Cross River and Zamfara States benefited from the fund in 2015.

    According to her, plans are on to also send nets to Kogi and Oyo States in 2016.

    The USAID Communication specialist said that PMI’s support to Nigeria was being guided by the PMI Strategy as well as the National Malaria Strategic Plan.

    Kamara listed the key support areas to include malaria prevention through use of nets, indoor spraying, diagnosis of suspected fever cases and effective treatment with recommended antimalarial.