Group sets 2023 target to curb malaria in endemic regions

The Corporate Alliance on Malaria in Africa (CAMA) has launched the ‘End Malaria Project’ in Lagos, Ebonyi and Kaduna states, with the goal of achieving a significant reduction in malaria prevalence across endemic regions by 2023.

The project, supported by Access Bank Plc. and implemented alongside Hacey Health Initiative is driving both advocacies on malaria control and providing free malaria tests and treatments for residents of some target communities.

Several households in 15 communities and 30 primary health care centres in the three states will benefit from the donation of 3,597 insecticide-treated nets under the programme.

Ochuko Keyamo-Onyige, the program director, CAMA, speaking on the project said pregnant women and children under five with relatively lower levels of immunity were at high risk of suffering Malaria.

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Keyamo explained that the End Malaria Project initiative aims to pool private sector resources and capabilities for sustained support towards reducing the incidence and prevalence of malaria in the most endemic region in Africa by 2023, starting in Nigeria.

“Malaria is known to be endemic in the tropics, and is transmitted all over Nigeria, where it is estimated that up to 97 percent of the country’s population risk getting the disease,” Keyamo said.

Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, Access Bank representative opined that the project was in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal three which aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

She, however, harped on the need for private sectors to continually complement government efforts by investing in high-impact health interventions such as malaria and maternal health programmes.

Also Rhoda Robinson, executive director, HACEY Health Initiative expressed delight over the rate at which pregnant women participated in the medical outreach.

“It is no news that maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in several low- and middle-income countries is alarming. 11,000 people were reached during the exercise, we are particularly grateful that 497 pregnant women were participants of the malaria testing in the three states,” She stated.

She hinted that about 34 percent of global maternal deaths occurred in Nigeria, stressing that records from World Health Organization (WHO) shows that the MMR of Nigeria is 814 per 100,000 live births.