War Against Malaria: N22.9m Grant for Nigeria

[Richard Akindele]

DETERMINED to help eradicate malaria in Nigeria, World Bank has approved a grant of N22.9 million ($180 million) to fight the scourge in the country.

Also, Minister of Health, Professor Eyitayo Lambo, will today, launch the National Policy and Guidelines for Treatment of Malaria in the country.

World Bank Vice-President for Africa, Gobind Nankani who disclosed the grant yesterday at the Video connection conference involving the bank's Washington DC, United States head office and its country offices in Nigeria and Zambia, said the gesture was in response to federal governments request.

The grant which would be released in December, he said, was from the malaria control booster project of the bank aimed at fighting the scorch in poor countries.

He said the preparation process involved public and private sector partners, who have come together with the federal, state, and local governments to develop a revised Roll Back Malaria strategic and operational plan which will form the backbone of the booster projects.

He said the project will contribute to national courage of malaria control interventions by supporting scale up in approximately 10 of the 36 states in Nigeria.

The Vice President noted that to achieve nationwide scale-up, increased support was needed, adding that World Bank was working with partners such as Department for International Development (DFID) and the Global Fund to ensure that sufficient resources are mobilized and sustained to achieve impact countrywide.

Nankani who pointed out that since the launch of the Booster programme 12 month ago, the Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved malaria control operations in four countries which include Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Niger and Zambia.

He also disclosed that the World Bank and partner agencies are working with the governments of nine countries in Africa to develop programmes to strengthen malaria control.

Earlier, Prof. Lambo disclosed that Nigeria needed about N40.1 billion ($316 million) to carry out preventive and other activities in helping to support the malaria Control Booster Project, stressing that Nigeria hopes to get the money before the end of September to enable it carry out the programme.

On the progress recorded so far by Nigeria in the control of malaria, Prof. Lambo said about 2.5 million Artemissinine Combination Therapy (ACT) and 85,000 Insecticide Treated Net (ITN) have been provided to the rural areas.

He called on the state and local government not to rely solely on the donor partners and Federal Government in the right against malaria in the country.

Internews Nigeria said yesterday, the documents are the product of a 5-year programme national response which started in 2000 following a declaration by 44 heads of state and government on the continent committing their countries to reaching specific targets on malaria control and prevention by the year 2005.

"The policy underscores the movement from mono-therapy-use of Chloroquine alone-to multi-therapy, that is use of Artenmism based combination or ACTS in the treatment of malaria.

"The change became necessary after trials had confirmed that Chloroquine had become less effective in the treatment of malaria as a result of drug resistance.

Source: Daily Champion

[Richard Akindele]

Former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon has advocated total war on malaria in Nigeria just as he donated over 40,000 doses of coartem drugs to Oyo State Government for the treatment and prevention of malaria in children under five years of age.

According to General Gowon, the war against malaria must be fought on all fronts since "malaria related mortalities are high, surpasing deaths from HIV/AIDS or any other known disease to mankind."

He therefore charged the state and local government administrations to complement the Global Fund resources through the Yakubu Gowon Centre, by providing more bed nets and anti-malaria drugs.

Speaking through General Domkat Bali at the presentation ceremony at the State Ministry of Health, the former Head of State remarked that Oyo State is one of the 18 states of the federation to benefit from the gesture.

While commending Oyo State government for its supportive efforts in ensuring that the citizens benefit maximally, from the Centre intervention programmes, he urged people in the state to cultivate the habit of sleeping under treated nets saying this will not only scare away mosquitoes but will also curb and reduce the spread of malaria in the society.

Receiving the drugs on behalf of the State Government, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Isaac Owolabi, who was represented by the Director of Primary Health Care and Disease Control, Dr. Francis Ogundiran thanked the Yakubu Gowon Centre for its untiring efforts at assisting the State in particular and the country in general through its various interventions to curb the spread of different diseases in the country.

In promising that the drugs would be judiciously used for the purpose it was meant, the Commissioner called on other voluntary agencies to emulate the Yakubu Gowon Centre by donating towards ereadication of other relevant diseases militating against the health of the people in the country stressing that there is no government anywhere in the world that could provide for all the health needs of her citizenry.


Daily Champion