The Federal Government while lamenting the increasing rates of avoidable deaths has disclosed that nine persons die of malaria every hour in Nigeria.
Timi Obot representing the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, disclosed this in Abeokuta on Monday during the visitation of the Advocacy team against Malaria to Ogun State Deputy Governor, Noimot Salako-Oyedele.
The team is seeking the support of the state government on the campaign to the grassroots.
Ehanire further stated that one out of every four persons having malaria in the world lives in Nigeria.
The minister emphasised the need to combat the disease so as to avoid the uncontrollable deaths of malaria across the country.
Quoting the World Report 2010, the minister said Nigeria contributed 27 per cent to the malaria burden and 23 per cent to the malaria death globally.
He however stressed that malaria services must not be interrupted in the country to avoid severe cases.
The minister said, “Malaria remains a major public health challenge in Nigeria. It constitutes a huge epidemiological burden and continues to cripple the economic development in the region.
“It is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Nigeria with young children and pregnant women disproportionately affected.
” It accounts for 60 per cent of outpatient to health facilities, 30 per cent of childhood deaths, 11 per cent of maternal death (4,500…and 20% of deaths in infants (Children aged 1year ). It is a major cause of school absenteeism and low productivity.
“At the state level (Ogun) malaria and prevalence has increased from about 15 per cent in 2015 to 22 per cent in 2018.
“We want to work harder to ensure that achieve a parasite prevalence of less than 10 per cent and reduce mortality attributable to malaria to 50 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2025 which is the target we have set out in the National malaria strategic plan (2021-2025) the anticipation that this could translate.
“We need to remind ourselves that currently, Nigeria contributes 27 per cent (58,850,600) to the malaria boarding and 23 per cent (88.320) to malaria depth globally (world malaria reports 2010).
“Children under 5 age remains the most vulnerable affected by malaria accounted for 67 per cent (272,000) of all malaria depth.”
The Advocacy team also revealed that over three million Insecticide Treated Nets is set to be distributed to the 236 wards of the 20 local government of Ogun state.
