Malaria

Malaria is a significant public health issue with a very high global burden. It is a life-threatening disease spread by female anopheles mosquitoes infected with the plasmodium parasite. These parasite-carrying mosquitoes infect people by releasing the parasites into their bloodstream when they bite. After being bitten by this type of mosquito, these parasites start multiplying in the body within two to three days thus making the body react.

In Nigeria, there is a wide spread of this disease in fact, the country is malaria-endemic, with its entire population at risk of getting infected with the disease. The number of cases in the country is so high and alarming that the country maintains one of the world’s highest records of this disease due to the rate of poverty and unhygienic living conditions of the people.

According to the 2021 World Malaria Report from the World Health Organisation, Nigeria contributes 27 per cent to the global malaria burden (one out of every four persons having malaria) and 32 per cent to malaria deaths globally (about one out of every three deaths). The country accounted for an estimated 55.2% of malaria cases in West Africa.

There is an established association between weather and the incidence of malaria in Nigeria. Nigeria is a sub-Saharan country with a tropical climate which poses the perfect weather condition for mosquitoes to live and breed as they stay in hot and humid temperatures. These mosquitoes thrive mainly in unhygienic/ dirty environments and the living conditions of the people determine, to a great extent, its spread.

Malaria is most prevalent in the rural northern region of the country; where the weather is so hot, especially during the dry season, the living standards of the people are sadly low, and they have limited access to good health care services. These factors enable the disease to continue multiplying, infecting, and killing people.

People with the sickness usually experience flu-like symptoms: fever, headache, high temperature and general weakness. If left untreated or not properly treated, it may lead to severe complications which may lead to the death of the patient. However, as deadly as Malaria sounds, it is very preventable and curable.

Efforts have been made by the government and some philanthropists to eradicate malaria in Nigeria but some of these efforts have faced daunting challenges partly due to the widespread unrest and insurgent attacks on health workers, particularly in the north. Also, some “hard to reach” rural communities require special measures- boats or camels, to access which has made routine malaria intervention services difficult.

Malaria can be prevented by keeping your surroundings clean, getting rid of any stagnant water, wearing proper covering clothes, applying mosquito repelling creams, spraying insecticide, sleeping under a treated net etc. A strategic plan is however currently put in place by the government in response to the malaria situation in Nigeria. It is based on the vision of achieving a malaria-free Nigeria where malaria morbidity will be reduced to less than ten percent parasite prevalence and deaths attributable to malaria less than fifty in every one thousand people by 2025.