Malaria, still a major public concern

David discussing with Nuer settlement prior to dist ITNs on Baro RiverDSC_0039 (Photo credit: UNICEF Ethiopia)

Sleeping under treated mosquito nets remains a veritable mode of preventing malaria in Nigeria.

Malaria, Nigeria’s number one disease and one of the world’s most prevalent sources of illness took centre stage in global health last week Thursday as the world marked the World Malaria Day. Studies so far indicate that malaria remains the most prevalent tropical disease in the world today. Each year, it causes ailment in approximately 650 million people and kills between one and three million, most of them, young children in Sub-Saharan Africa. Unfortunately, one of such countries is Nigeria and has become well known for a high prevalence of malaria, which is also a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among its citizenry.
Latest scorecard released by NOI Pollsa leading opinion polling and research organisation which works in partnership with the Gallup organization (USA) to develop opinion research in Nigeria, on April 16, revealed that almost 7 in 10 Nigerians (66%) had malaria at least once in 2012, and about 13% treated the ailment with the use of local herbs such as Agbo, Dogonyaro, Neem leaves and lemon grass. The former, accounts for over 45 percent of all outpatient visits in hospitals. This, medical experts note is not unconnected with the infection most Nigerians suffer during the first five years of life, thus making it a major public health problem.
Further analysis by geo-political zones revealed malaria to be more prevalent in the South than in the North. Again, the malaria scorecard indicated that majority of the residents in the northern regions; North- Central (43%) North-East (38%) and North- West (38%)) have not had malaria over the past 12 month while the southern regions; South-South (77%), South-East (75%) and South-West (64%) have the largest percentage of people who have had malaria more than once over the last 12 months. The latest score card however explained this disparity between geo-political zones to be due to the greater presence of rivers, seas and lakes in the south where mosquitoes are prevalent; while the North is mostly land locked.
Nationwide, the NOI Polls latest scorecard further indicated that many (44 percent) Nigerians visit the hospital to see a doctor when they have malaria, while 38 percent simply buy medicines from the pharmacy or chemist. Furthermore, four percent do not use any medicine at all.
The scorecard further revealed females visit hospitals more than males, as a greater proportion of males were discovered to simply visit the pharmacy to buy malaria medicines or opt for native herbs, than females. Analysis along regions showed that majority of the residents in the southern regions selfmedicate, while most of them in the northern regions go to the hospital. An in-depth view of the malaria snap poll indicated that the North-West has the highest proportion (71%) of residents who visit the hospital, while the South-East has the highest percentage (52%) that simply buy malaria medicine from the pharmacy; also the South-West has the highest proportion of respondents (19%) that use native herbs.
Even statistics by the National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) indicate that in 2010 the disease accounted for 25 per cent of infant mortality and 30 per cent of childhood mortality in Nigeria thereby imposing a great burden on the country in terms of pains and trauma suffered by its victims as well as loss in outputs and cost of treatments.
Consequently, reports by the World Health Organization (WHO) reveal malaria still remains one of the most significant public health problems in Nigeria and perhaps the commonest cause of ill health in Africa. The world health body disclosed that almost all the entire population of Africa is at risk of this parasitic disease that has continued to claim at least one million lives.
“It is mosquito-borne and one of the killer diseases of the world, currently accounting for about 300 to 500 million clinical cases annually and over 1.2 to 2.7 million deaths worldwide each year” WHO reports.
As a result of these, the Federal Government through the Ministry of Health has over the years developed several methods and programmes in combating the scourge of both malaria and drug-resistant malaria in the country. One of such strategic interventions is the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) programme.
According to the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, RBM in Nigeria anchors on the global strategies for malaria control which are multi-pronged and of proven efficacy. Some of these include prompt and effective case management, intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in pregnancy and Integrated Vector Management. The IVM includes the use of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) such as the Long Lasting Insecticide treated Nets ( LLIN) which has become a part of most homes as over five million nets have been distributed alone in Nigeria. It also includes Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS) and Environmental Management.
Other cross-cutting interventions include Advocacy, Communication and Social Mobilization, Effective Programme Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, Partnership and Collaborations.
Notwithstanding these, malaria remains a global health problem, and public health efforts today focus on controlling it. Consequently, over the years, a lot of efforts have gone into controlling it in the country and in other African countries, but the problem has not shown any sign of abating. The reasons discovered so far for the limited success in efforts to eradicate malaria -a disease of poverty in Nigeria, include poor health practices by individuals and communities and resistance to drugs.
The Malaria Day, which was instituted by the World Health Assembly at its 60th session in May 2007, is a day for recognizing the global effort to provide effective control of malaria. It is an opportunity for countries in the affected regions to learn from each other’s experiences and support each other’s efforts. The theme for this year’s edition is: Invest in the future. Defeat malaria.