2018 World Malaria Day is here again and #WorldMalariaDay is already trending across Nigeria. But is Nigeria really ready to beat malaria?
Despite the remarkable achievements and progresses recorded in turning the tide against malaria, the disease still persists and remains a serious threat to public health in Nigeria. And experts have said that if urgent actions are not taken, the major gains recorded are under threat.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on its part has continued to canvass for greater investments and expansion of coverage of proven tools that prevent, diagnose and treat of malaria.
Science has proven beyond reasonable doubts that malaria is a life-threatening infectious disease caused by Plasmodium species. The parasite is transmitted to human through a bite from infected female anopheles mosquito.
While there are more than 100 different species of Plasmodium, only four are known to infect human: Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium ovale, Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium vivax, and Plasmodium knowlesi, has been proven to be transmitted from human to mosquito.
The deadliest of all is Plasmodium falciparum and it is responsible for vast number of death recorded annually from malaria.
The disease is ranked among the ten top leading causes of death in Nigeria where the disease burden is responsible for 60% of outpatients’ visit to healthcare facilities, 30% childhood death, and 25% of death in children under one year. About 90% of Nigeria’s population are known to be at risk of malaria and this contributes to an estimated 11% of maternal mortality.
Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country, accounted for 27% of malaria cases and 24% of malaria deaths globally in 2016. Malaria continues to claim a significant number of lives yearly; the most vulnerable and susceptible are children under the age of five (5) years. More than 70 % of all malaria deaths occur in this age group. The disease claims the life of a child every 2 minutes.
Some of the attributed factors responsible for the menace of malaria are non-usage of long-lasting insecticidal nets, poor sanitation; indiscriminate dumping of refuse, messy environment and stagnant water had made malaria the commonest disease found in Nigeria. These environmental conditions enhance the proliferation of plasmodium species.
Other prime environmental factors are temperature; relative humidity seasonal rainfall pattern characterized with heavy downpour affect the ecological dynamics of the vector of malaria..
Good news
WHO is gearing to test run the first malaria vaccine in three selected African countries – Ghana, Malawi and Kenya. More to this are the new interventions that target outdoor-biting mosquitoes. New chemical formulations to mitigate the threat of insecticide resistance are under development, as are new strategies to improve the delivery of treated nets and indoor spraying.
It is worthy to note that mosquito nets had proven to be one of the most effective malaria prevention interventions.
Several studies have shown that malaria can be avoided with better implementation of preventive measures including public health education coupled with timely intervention with appropriate treatment.
Tragically however, while such treatment is often locally available, it is not provided due to delays in seeking care, indecision, incorrect diagnosis, and inappropriate selection of treatment. Therefore, universal access to reliable healthcare information and knowledge is a prerequisite for tackling malaria.
It therefore beckons on the government at all levels, stakeholders, and all well meaning Nigerians to rise to the occasion in joining the fight against beating malaria. This should not end by just latching on the trending hashtag.