Malaria mortality highest in Northern Nigeria — NMEP
Contrary to the popular belief that regions with more rains such as the South should have higher presence of malaria vector, the North possesses higher rate of mortality from malaria compared to other regions.
The National Coordinator for National Malaria Elimination Programme, Dr. Adudu Mohahammed made the disclosure at an annual meeting of Corporate Alliance on Malaria in Africa (CAMA).
According to Mohammed, the government is looking to raise funds towards supporting 13 states in the country seriously affected with malaria vector.
Mohahammed complained that limited information from the private sector has hampered the process of fighting the vector, noting that the North possesses higher rate of mortality from malaria compared to other regions.
“People think that the regions with more rains such as the south should have higher presence of malaria but that’s not all to it. Environmental factors alone don’t determine it.
“We need to also look at the availability of health infrastructures and amenities in the various states and this is absent in some of these northern states,” he said.
He declared that Bauchi and Kogi states among others have the highest malaria presence.
Stakeholders urged the public and private sectors to close ranks and strive to defeat the scourge.
Head of Sustainability and Corporate Communications for Access Bank, Omobolanle Laniyan in her remarks said according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nigeria contributes 25 per cent of malaria death cases in the world, which is higher than smaller African countries such as DRC, Uganda, Côte d’ Ivoire, Mozambique and Niger.
Manager of GBC Health CAMA for Nigeria, Ochuko Oyige said malaria remains one of the impediments to a nation’s economic development.
Oyige said it reduces performance and encourages poverty, urging all stakeholders to increase public awareness. He called on interested groups to partner with CAMA in fighting the disease.
