Abstract
Malaria is responsible for about 500 million cases and one million deaths each year. In Nigeria, it is highly endemic particularly affecting young children and pregnant mothers. Almost all the reported cases are caused by P. falciparum but most are unconfirmed. The National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) distributed about 17 million ITNs during 2005-2007, enough to cover only 23% of the population. Also, 4.5 million courses of ACT was delivered in 2006 and 9 million in 2007, far below total requirements. In April 2000, the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Initiative was launched in Abuja with the aim of reducing halving the morbidity and mortality of malaria in Nigeria by end of 2005 through case management, promotion of Intermittent Preventive Treatment (IPT), and promotion of the use of ITNs/vector management. Furthermore, one of the problems encountered in malaria control is the issue of drug resistance of Chloroquine, and subsequently Sulphadoxine-Pyrimethamine (SP) which are affordable and easy to administer. Most treatments are also self administered. Development of effective malaria vaccine will certainly bring about decline of malaria cases in the country and elsewhere. Mosquitocidal fungiciding, proper delivery and use of ITNs and ACTs, and malaria sensitization campaigns in the rural – endemic areas will help in the effective control of malaria in Nigeria.
Highlights
Malaria is highly endemic in Nigeria [1,2] where it accounts for 60% outpatient visits to health facilities, 30% childhood death, and 11% of maternal death (4,500 die yearly) [2]
Since the inception of the Roll Back Malaria Initiative, malaria control in Nigeria has undergone an evolution that has resulted in the attainment of several milestones which have served to set the stage for the phase in the implementation process: rapid scaling up of interventions
African heads of states met in Abuja on April 25, 2000, to express commitment to the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) initiative having recognized the public health and economic burden the disease has placed on the continent as well as the barrier it constitutes to development and poverty alleviation
Summary
Malaria is highly endemic in Nigeria [1,2] where it accounts for 60% outpatient visits to health facilities, 30% childhood death, and 11% of maternal death (4,500 die yearly) [2]. The reality is that in the poorest, rural areas, where malaria takes its highest toll, it is difficult to obtain accurate data and to derive meaningful malaria statistics During their illness, many patients struggle, often unsuccessfully to access basic health care [1,4,5,6]. The dramatic success of these measures in a few specific areas, such as KwaZulu in South Africa [9], Eritrea [10], and the Tanzanian Island of Zanzibar [11], has inspired a new call for global eradication [4] Achieving this ambitious goal depends on the development of new tools to treat, prevent and monitor malaria [3,4]. The recent availability of genome sequences for humans, Anopheles mosquitoes, and Plasmodium parasites has raised hopes of molecular diagnosis of the disease coupled with vaccine development
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