Lara Adejoro
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, has said the annual loss to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product from malaria exceeds $1.1bn.
Pate said this at the inaugural meeting of the Advisory on Malaria Elimination in Nigeria in Abuja.
A statement issued by the ministry’s Deputy Director of Information and Public Relations, Alaba Balogun, on Tuesday, stated that Pate described malaria as not just a health crisis, but an economic and developmental emergency that must be eliminated.
Pate said the unveiling of the advisory body is a bold and decisive step to confront and address the disease.
He said, “Malaria continues to exert an unacceptable toll on Nigeria With 27 per cent of global malaria cases and 31 per cent of global malaria deaths, our country bears the heaviest burden of this disease. In 2022, over 180,000 Nigerian children under the age of five lost their lives to malaria – a tragedy we have the tools to prevent.
“This is not just a health crisis; it is an economic and developmental emergency. 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 $ 1.1 billion, a stark reminder of the economic imperative of elimination.”
The don noted that malaria elimination is a critical component of the Nigeria Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative framework for transforming the health sector, in alignment with the renewed hope agenda of the present administration.
He also highlighted the importance of traditional and religious leaders to drive grassroots support and influence behavioural change.
The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, affirmed the advisory body as a group of experts who will provide evidence-based advisory to help the country reduce its unacceptable malaria burden and set up realistic paths to a malaria-free Nigeria.
“For us to succeed, the private sector, the international partners, the healthcare workers and, the communities we serve must be harnessed and coordinated,” Salako added.
The advisory body is made up of globally renowned experts under the leadership of Prof Rose Leke.
The experts are charged with refocusing on advancing evidence-based solutions that address current challenges, ensuring that malaria elimination is prioritised in the budgets and plans of all levels of government and, creating frameworks for accountability that ensure sustained progress.
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