Nigeria Pledges Its Commitment To Eradicate Malaria

Nigerian government says it is committed to eliminating malaria as it eliminated guinea worm in the country.

President Mohammadu Buhari made the commitment in his presentation in Kigali in Rwanda at .a summit on Malaria and other Neglected Tropical Diseases, NTD’s, on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, CHOGM.

The Nigerian Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, who made the presentation on behalf of the Nigerian said the menace of malaria can be curbed in Commonwealth countries through multilateral collaboration amongst Commonwealth and adequate funding the health care sector.

President Buhari announced that about 23 million Nigerian children have received the seasonal malaria chemoprevention, aiding reduction in severe malaria in children in the country.

He tasked Commonwealth leaders to renew commitment toward eliminating the disease while assuring best efforts by his government to mobilise domestic resources in the fight against NTDs and malaria.

He announced that Nigeria had secured 300 million dollars from the World Bank and from the Islamic Development Bank to cover essential malaria programmes and strengthen Primary Healthcare.

The president added that fatalities caused by malaria in parts of Africa mostly affect children and pregnant women, and urged low-income countries to join forces together to end the challenge.

The Summit culminated with a Call to Action, focusing on the specific actions needed to end malaria and NTDs once and for all.

The summit, hosted by Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, featured commitments totaling more than four billion dollars including funding from governments, international organisations, philanthropists, and private sector support.