THE Senate has passed for third reading a bill seeking the establishment of the National Agency for Malaria Elimination, aimed at coordinating efforts to prevent, control, and eventually eradicate malaria in Nigeria.
News Point Nigeria reports that the bill, sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko (Delta North), was passed following the consideration and adoption of a report by the Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary), chaired by Senator Ipalibo Harry Banigo (Rivers West).
According to the committee, the proposed agency will coordinate national malaria elimination programmes and shift the country’s response from treatment-focused interventions to prevention and eradication strategies.
The agency is also expected to establish zonal and state offices to drive implementation through a framework anchored on law, science and accountability.
President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, described the legislation as a landmark step in the fight against malaria, noting that the disease remains one of Nigeria’s most common health challenges.
Speaking with senate correspondents after the passage, Nwoko expressed confidence that malaria elimination in Nigeria is both practical and achievable.
He said the proposed agency would deploy strategies such as effective waste management, environmental fumigation and vaccine research to combat the disease, adding that its establishment could position Nigeria as the first malaria-free country in Africa.
Last month, the World Health Organisation announced that it had given prequalification approval to a malaria treatment for newborns and infants for the first time.
Artemether-lumefantrine is the first antimalarial formulation designed specifically for the youngest victims of the mosquito-borne disease.
It said that the prequalification designation indicated that the medicine met international standards of quality, safety and efficacy.
Before the prequalification approval, infants have been treated with formulations intended for older children — carrying a greater risk of dosage errors, side effects and toxicity.
“For centuries, malaria has stolen children from their parents, and health, wealth and hope from communities,” said WHO’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“But today, the story is changing. New vaccines, diagnostic tests, next-generation mosquito nets and effective medicines, including those adapted for the youngest, are helping to turn the tide.
“Ending malaria in our lifetime is no longer a dream, it is a real possibility, but only with sustained political and financial commitment. Now we can. Now we must,” he added.
In 2024, there were an estimated 282 million malaria cases and 610,000 deaths in 80 countries, according to the WHO, and Africa accounts for 95 per cent of cases and deaths, with children under five accounting for three-quarters of those deaths.
The UN health agency says progress against malaria is being hampered by drug resistance, insecticide resistance, diagnostic failure and sharp reductions in foreign aid spending.
Globally, 70 per cent of countries do not have regulatory systems that are robust enough to oversee medicines, vaccines, tests and medical devices.