The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, has called for a review of the country’s strategies to combat the malaria burden.
He said this when partners from the Malaria Alliance, RBM Malaria Partnership, and Nigerian officials of WHO Global Malaria Programme visited him on Friday in Abuja.
He said the country had not made significant progress despite decades of efforts to reduce the malaria scourge.
Pate said Nigeria bore 30 per cent of the global malaria burden, with 68 million cases and 194,000 deaths annually, prompting a call for urgent intervention strategies
“Nigeria is still struggling with a high burden of malaria, despite implementing programmes to eliminate the disease for over 70 years.
“As at 2021, the country accounted for 30 per cent of the global burden, with an estimated 68 million cases and 194,000 deaths annually,” he lamented.
The minister advocated a comprehensive review of existing approaches to combating the public health crisis
