Malaria eradication in Nigeria: State of the nation and priorities for action

Abstract

This paper discusses the National Malaria Strategic Plan (NMSP), the Nigeria End Malaria Council (NEMC), and the National Malaria Elimination Program (NMEP) in Nigeria and their relationship towards achieving the NMSP goal of eradicating malaria by 2025. Malaria is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Nigeria. Despite implementing the NMSP in times past, the country still has sub-Saharan Africa's highest malaria mortality rate. The NMSP 2021–2025 aims to reduce malaria deaths to less than 50 per 1000 births and achieve a parasite prevalence of less than 10% by 2025. The NEMC was established in 2022 to support the NMEP in achieving the malaria eradication goal by 2030. The paper also identifies challenges to malaria elimination, such as poor accessibility to antimalarials, socio-cultural and behavioral approaches by community members, and data collection by community health workers, nurses, and doctors. The paper suggests a multidisciplinary approach involving social and behavioral scientists to incorporate community members' belief systems into account and encourages data collection and supervisory visits to ensure quality data. The sustainability of interventions and follow-up on interventions and progress reports is also highlighted as a barrier to be overcome. The paper concludes that the successful implementation of the NMSP by the NMEP will require the commitment of the NEMC, relevant stakeholders and a coordinated effort toward eliminating malaria as a public health problem in Nigeria.