Non-prioritization of malaria elimination, lack of political will, and poor funding have been identified as major issues militating against the elimination of malaria in Nigeria.
A Professor of Public Health Parasitology at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Prof. Dennis Aribodor, made this known in an exclusive chat with a TNC correspondent in Awka on the occasion of the 2025 World Malaria Day.
The global celebration, held every April 25, was instituted by World Health Organization (WHO) member states in 2007 to highlight the need for continued investment and sustained political commitment to malaria prevention and control.
The country’s burden of malaria is reportedly put at 22 percent as of 2022, but Nigeria remains the country with the highest burden of Malaria, 27% of global cases and 31% of global deaths.
Most of these deaths occur in children under the age of 5 years.
Prof. Aribodor believes that the major problem Nigeria is experiencing in the fight to eliminate malaria is the lack of political will to fund control and elimination efforts locally.
He revealed that Egypt was certified malaria-free in 2025 by the World Health Organization, joining Algeria, which was certified malaria-free in 2020 by the WHO, after malaria was first detected there over a hundred years ago.
Judging from Algeria’s experience, Aribodor noted that the country, through its government, provided malaria services to everyone who had malaria.
“They funded it, and before you know it, they were certified malaria-free. This is no fluke because before you can be certified, there will be research to show that no mosquito in that society has the malaria parasite and that no human being in that society has malaria parasite,” he said.
The public health parasitologist expressed the hope that Nigeria, with its resources, can achieve the same feat as Egypt and Algeria if it can muster the necessary political will, set a target, and provide the necessary funding.
According to him, there are tools for eliminating malaria, such as sanitation, which involves clearing areas where mosquitoes breed, known as larval source management. Additionally, there are testing tools and treatments, including Anti-Malaria Combination Therapy (ACT) and a vaccine for children.
Bemoaning the avoidable deaths of children due to malaria in Nigeria, Aribodor said the year’s World Malaria Day presents another opportunity to draw the attention of the people of Nigeria, especially the government and the political class, to the need to make malaria elimination a priority.
“I am calling on our leaders at the national, state, local government, and community level to call this malaria elimination a priority.
“If we achieve malaria elimination, we can channel the humongous resources we spend on treating it into other areas that need attention.
“The number of children dying from this disease can be avoided. At the individual level, we should eliminate mosquito breeding habitats from our homes and surroundings and demand funding for malaria control efforts.
“I am also calling on philanthropists, well-meaning groups, and other people to join this effort, but the government must take the lead, budget, supervise their budget, and see that their plans work, towards eliminating malaria in Nigeria,” the University don posited.
