The recent disclosure by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Pate, on the annual loss to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from malaria exceeding $1.1billion is worrisome. Pate, who made the disclosure at the inaugural meeting of the Advisory on Malaria Elimination in Nigeria (AMEN) in Abuja, described malaria as not just a health crisis, but also an economic and developmental emergency that must be eliminated.
The minister lamented that malaria has continued to exert toll on the country, stressing that with 27% of global malaria cases and 31% of global malaria deaths, Nigeria bears the heaviest burden of the disease. He recalled that in 2022, over 180,000 Nigerian children under the age of five lost their lives to malaria, regretting that the loss was a tragedy Nigeria had the tools to prevent.
“Malaria reduces productivity, increases out-of-pocket health expenditures and, compounds the challenges of poverty. The annual loss to Nigeria’s GDP from malaria exceeds $1.1billion, a stark reminder of the economic imperative of elimination,” the minister stated.
The financial costs and death rates arising from malaria are staggering and underscore the need to tackle the menace effectively. Nigeria presently accounts for an estimated 55 per cent of malaria cases in West Africa.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) report of 2021, Nigeria alone accounted for 27 per cent of all cases of malaria and 32 per cent of deaths globally. Out of the estimated 241 million malaria cases and 627, 000 malaria deaths worldwide in 2020, Nigeria accounted for 31.9 per cent of the total deaths. The global health body had also remarked that malaria was responsible for an average annual reduction of 1.3% in Africa’s economic growth. With particular reference to Nigeria, malaria-related absenteeism and productivity losses were estimated at $ 1.1 billion every year.
In April 2022, there were 289,957 cases of malaria recorded at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, alone. Malaria accounted for 70 per cent of outpatient visits, 40 per cent of admissions with a total of 389,957 cases reported, and a malaria prevalence rate of 35.4 per cent.
Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. Its symptoms include fever, cold, sweats, headache, body aches, nausea, and vomiting. Malaria thrives in the developing world and continues to spread because of, poverty, ignorance, poor health practices, poor environmental practices and poor housing.
Malaria is rated among the killer diseases in Nigeria. Others are Tuberculosis, Measles, Typhoid Fever and Corona Virus (COVID-19). According to experts, malaria in pregnancy is a significant contributor to maternal and neonatal mortality. It is a major cause of anemia in pregnant women, which contributes to maternal death at delivery due to hemorrhage, and causes stillbirths, preterm birth, and low birth weight increasing the risk of neonatal deaths.
Despite the huge investment in malaria treatment and care, the disease has remained endemic. Malaria weakens the health of the people and stunts economic development. It leads to loss of productive hours, productivity, money, persistent absenteeism and maternal and child mortality, among others.
Some African countries, have recorded gains in reducing the epidemic. Botswana, Ethiopia, the Gambia, Ghana, Namibia and South Africa are known to have recorded milestones of reducing malaria incidence and deaths by 40%. Nigeria and other countries in Africa and elsewhere are still behind in the fight against malaria, despite government efforts and support from international organisations.
We agree with the WHO that every malaria case is preventable, and every malaria death is unacceptable. Eliminating malaria should remain the priority of the government at all levels. Tackling malaria will save for the country the money as well as human lives.
Government should step up actions in malaria eradication exercises. The new strategies and action plans announced by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, to combat the growing burden of malaria and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the country are commendable.
Under the scheme, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) would carry out malaria vaccination campaign in Kebbi and Bayelsa states. We urge the government to extend the initiative to other states in the country. Let the states and federal government increase the budgetary allocations for health to enable the sector tackle the challenges of malaria.
The citizens also have a role to play in preventing and controlling the disease by ensuring healthy living. This entails keeping their environments clean and ensuring that mosquitoes do not breed within their neighbourhood. Doing this requires cleaning the gutters and doing away with stagnant water around them. The environments should be regularly fumigated to kill malaria breeding mosquitoes. Suspected cases of malaria should be reported to health professionals, rather than resorting to self-medication.