Nigeria is likely to be among the African countries that will not attain the World Health Assembly target of a 75 percent reduction in malaria cases and deaths by 2015, health experts say.
In 2013, an estimated 163 million cases of malaria occurred in the African region resulting in approximately 528 000 deaths. However, between 2000 and 2013, the estimated number of malaria cases at risk population declined by 34 percent while malaria death rates declined by 54 percent in the African Region.
In a message to mark this year’s World Malaria Day on 25 April, the regional director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) blamed limited access to and underutilisation of available malaria interventions within countries as the major causes of excessively high burdens of malaria cases and deaths.
According to the statement, in 2013, 33 percent of households in the region still did not own even a single Long Lasting Insecticidal bet Net (LLIN) while only 29 percent of households had enough LLINs for all household members.
“There is a global consensus to reduce malaria mortality and incidence rates by at least 90 percent by 2030 and eliminate malaria. The proportion of people protected by at least one malaria control method has increased in recent years but total funding will only match needs if international donors and partners and national governments prioritize further investments in malaria control,’’ the statement said.
Calling on countries and stakeholders to focus on targeting available resources at places where the burden of malaria is highest and at the people and groups who face the highest risk of malaria, the WHO urged countries and stakeholders to invest in national and community systems to test every suspected case of malaria before administering treatment.
The WHO regional office said all confirmed malaria cases should also be documented and reported to determine the geographic areas where malaria is most prevalent and the population groups that are at the greatest risk.
He expressed the readiness of the WHO regional office for Africa to continue to provide “evidence-based guidance to all countries and stakeholders to better target malaria interventions, strengthen national health systems towards universal health coverage, and accelerate progress towards a malaria-free Africa.”
Malaria can be prevented or controlled through the use of long lasting insecticidal bed nets (LLINs), indoor residual spraying (IRS), preventive therapies for pregnant women, children under five and infants, as well as quality-assured diagnostic testing and treatment. Most malaria prone countries are still far from achieving universal coverage of these malaria interventions.
ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK
