As Nigeria still accounts for 27% of global malaria cases and 31% of global malaria deaths, relevant stakeholders, including the World Health Organization (WHO), are urging governments to combat the impact of malaria in the country. reiterated its support for
Malaria is endemic in Nigeria, and 32-year-old Toyin Obasola and her family of six from Ibadan, Oyo State, southwestern Nigeria, are among those who regularly fall ill with the disease.
“The infection seems to have passed from one person in the family to another. When you feel a headache, fever and vomiting and go to a health center for testing, it usually turns out to be malaria.
Buying antimalarial drugs is not cheap. Health workers in my area already knew my family, so I was embarrassed. Malaria is the major disease we treat. So I believe there’s something mosquitoes love in my community, says Mrs. Obasola, a mother of her four children.
For Mrs. Obassola and her family, malaria treatment was mostly a matter of time. I was taught to sleep under an insecticide-treated mosquito net until I followed the advice of my health care provider. A storage tank that prevents mosquitoes from breeding.
“The incidence of malaria has decreased since my children started sleeping in nets. Malaria, a preventable disease transmitted by female Anopheles mosquitoes, is estimated to have killed 619,000 people worldwide in 2021.
Unfortunately, the African continent, which includes Nigeria, is home to 95% of malaria cases and 96% of malaria deaths. Children under the age of five account for about 80% of malaria deaths in the region.
According to the World Malaria Report 2022, the number of malaria cases will continue to rise in 2021, but at a slower pace compared to the period 2019-2020. The number of cases is estimated at 247 million in 2021, he 245 million in 2020 and 232 million in 2019.
Malaria is one of the deadliest diseases in the world, so the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners have devised various strategic tools to solve the problem. One of them is the use of insect nets.
“We urge mothers and pregnant women, in particular, to prevent transmission from mosquitoes sleeping under insecticide-treated mosquito nets and, for pregnant women, intermittent prophylaxis during the second trimester and before conception. , recommends getting tested for malaria before using antimalarial drugs and maintaining the environment, says Mary Yarda, a nurse at a private health facility in Abuja with 15 years of experience.
“Pre-treatment testing is recommended rather than self-medication. RDT) kit.
This also cuts down waiting times, so you get quicker results for malaria tests before treatment, she says.
In honor of World Malaria Day 2023, WHO Nigeria Representative Dr Walter Kazadi Mulombo revisits our strategy by investing, innovating and implementing wisely to end malaria, It says it’s time to activate.
Reading the WHO Regional Director-General’s message at a media roundtable in Abuja, Dr. Murombo said:
He calls on Member States to redouble their commitment to implement ambitious and innovative acceleration plans to rapidly reduce the burden of malaria and save the lives of their populations.
“To achieve this, the government will mobilize more resources and technical capacity at national and international levels, strengthen preventive measures, and develop effective partnerships and partnerships that will help improve the reach of malaria case management services. It is necessary to build a multi-sectoral mechanism.
To limit malaria transmission, WHO supports the Nigerian government and other partners at the federal and state levels to implement various malaria control/elimination programs across the country.
For example, WHO promotes malaria surveillance, drug and insecticide resistance monitoring, advocacy and resource mobilization, data use and evidence generation, capacity building, service delivery, including provision of ITNs, diagnosis and treatment, seasonal malaria. chemoprevention in pregnant women, intermittent prophylactic treatment in pregnant women, etc.
Similarly, with funding from the Global Fund and the President’s Malaria Initiative, WHO will support seasonal malaria chemoprevention in Adamawa and Yobe, IDP malaria control in Adamawa and Gombe, Taraba and Yobe, and malaria control in Adamawa and Yobe. support technical assistance to strengthen prevention, diagnosis, treatment and surveillance of
World Malaria Day commemorates 25 April each year to raise awareness about the deadly disease.The theme of World Malaria Day 2023 is time for zero malaria: investment, innovation and implementation. His WMD national slogan for 2023 is Act Now!
Distributed by the APO group on behalf of the World Health Organization (WHO) – Nigeria.