The Federal Government has called on African leaders and stakeholders to take full ownership of the fight against malaria, warning that dependence on external funding and fragmented interventions will continue to stall progress against a disease that kills nearly 600,000 people annually.
Speaking at the Harnessing Africa’s Central Role Against Malaria – Big Push meeting in Abuja, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, said Africa must reframe malaria as an African problem and mobilise domestic resources to confront it.
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“Malaria is not someone else’s problem; it is our problem. Ninety percent of the global burden is here in Africa. Unless we own it, fund it, and act decisively, we will be back here next year and the year after, repeating the same conversations,” he told delegates drawn from governments, civil society, development agencies, and the private sector.
Prof. Pate lamented that Nigeria, despite running a malaria control programme for nearly 80 years, still carries one-third of the global malaria burden.
He attributed this to heavy reliance on external partners while domestic investments in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment lagged behind.
He outlined steps Nigeria is taking to localise malaria control efforts, including the establishment of diagnostic kit manufacturing plants, plans for the world’s largest mosquito bed net producer to set up in Nigeria, and the integration of malaria case management into primary healthcare.
Local pharmaceutical companies are also supplying artemisinin-based therapies under Global Fund procurement.
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“These are not just health interventions but also economic opportunities to create jobs and retain value within our economy,” he said.
Calling for sustainable financing, the minister highlighted ongoing fiscal reforms and stressed that malaria should be addressed within the broader context of strengthening health systems.
Minister of State for Health, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, reinforced the urgency, describing malaria as both preventable and treatable yet still a leading cause of death in Africa.
Citing World Health Organization (WHO) data, he noted that Africa accounted for 94% of the 263 million malaria cases and 95% of the 597,000 malaria deaths recorded globally in 2023.
“These figures are unacceptable. To defeat malaria, we must mount a big push. This means reaching at-risk populations with preventive tools, ensuring affordable diagnosis and treatment, and innovating to overcome new challenges such as insecticide resistance and climate change,” he said.
Dr. Salako added that conflicts, natural disasters, and climate-induced floods and droughts are complicating malaria control efforts by creating new mosquito breeding grounds and leaving displaced populations without healthcare.
Both ministers stressed that defeating malaria requires multi-stakeholder collaboration, investment in research, scale-up of vaccines, environmental control measures, and strong civil society engagement.
“We deeply appreciate our partners, but ultimately, this is our fight. Malaria is an African problem. It will only end when we treat it as such and put our own skin in the game,” Prof. Pate declared.
The Abuja meeting, hosted by the Federal Government in partnership with the Roll Back Malaria Partnership (RBM), the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA), and supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), aims to strengthen political commitment and align continental strategies toward malaria elimination by 2030.
The two-day conference is expected to produce a continental roadmap to accelerate elimination efforts, mobilise domestic financing, and cement Africa’s central role in global malaria eradication strategies.