ABUJA — The Nigerian government has expressed concern that malaria disease is still responsible for the death of most Nigerians despite concerted efforts to cure it.
Dr. Osagie Ehanire, Nigeria Minister of Health stated this at the launch of the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), a campaign to end malaria, tagged “Mama Put”.
Represented by the director of public health, Dr. Morenike Alex-Okoh said malaria was still the leading cause of death in the country and remains a major public health problem, even though it was preventable and curable.
He, therefore, urged all Nigerians to first carry out tests for malaria before commencing treatment, noted that the rolled-out campaign is to promote prompt care-seeking for fever, and tested all fever cases before treatment.
Ehanire noted that with support of the US President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI), the campaign was successful due to the use of insecticide-treated nets, prompt care-seeking, fever testing to confirm that they have malaria, and the use of appropriate malaria medication.
“Ending malaria in the country would prevent millions of illnesses and hundreds of thousands of deaths annually. Ending malaria will also increase school attendance, boost worker productivity, and significantly lower family’s medical costs. Ending malaria is achievable,” he said.
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