Nigeria spends N132bn annually to combat malaria          

National Malaria Elimination Programme in Nigeria has estimated that malaria costs the Nigerian economy N132 billion or $660 million annually.

James Entwistle, the US ambassador to Nigeria, said this at the weekend in a statement titled “Ending Malaria in Nigeria for Good.”

The ambassador noted that despite Nigeria’s tremendous progress in this regard, “we must remain committed to our fight against malaria.”

More than 430,000 people around the world still die each year from this preventable and treatable illness, and 90 percent of all malaria deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa.

The vast majority are children under five, as malaria kills one child every two minutes, according to the World Health Organisation.

“Malaria sickens hundreds of millions of people over and over again, as more than half of all school absences in Africa are due to malaria,” said Entwistle.

According to Entwistle, ending malaria is not just good social policy, it is good business.

He also noted that leading economists had identified the fight against malaria as one of the “best buys” in global development, estimating that a 50 percent reduction in global malaria incidence could produce over N7,000 ($36) in economic benefits for every N200 ($1) invested.

In his words, “malaria eradication could deliver more than four hundred trillion naira ($2 trillion) in economic benefits and, more importantly, save an estimated 11 million lives.

“I am proud that the US President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) continues to play a key role in the global fight against malaria. PMI, which supports 19 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, provides Nigerian communities and families with a mix of tools to fight malaria, including long-lasting, insecticide-treated mosquito nets, indoor insecticide spraying campaigns, the latest drug therapies to treat infections, prevention treatment of malaria in pregnancy, and community education campaigns.”

In 2015 alone, PMI supported training for nearly 7,000 health workers around the world in malaria case management, and procured 19 million anti-malarial treatments and more than 6 million rapid diagnostic tests kits in Nigeria.