Health
Malaria Accounts For 30 % Of Childhood Deaths-NMEP
The National Malaria Elimination Programme(NMEP) has reported that Malaria accounts for 60 per cent of outpatient visits to health facilities across the country and 30 per cent of childhood deaths.
Globally, there are an estimated 249 million Malaria cases and 608,000 Malaria deaths among 85 countries.
Nigeria’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare made the statistics at the key health players and experts to reevaluate its approach and strategies.
The event themed, “Ministerial Roundtable Meeting: Rethinking Malaria Elimination in Nigeria,” featured representatives from national and international health organisations, who analysed the country’s anti-malaria strategies over the past years.
Over the years, Nigeria has made continuous attempts to reduce its malaria burden to zero, however, the country still has the highest burden of malaria globally.
According to the 2022 World Malaria Report, Nigeria contributes about 27 per cent of the global burden of the disease, and about 31.3 per cent of deaths, the largest globally.
Experts speak recommending new approaches to fighting the epidemic, stakeholders and experts present at the event urged the government to reduce its dependence on external funding and improve government financing.
According to them, Nigeria needs to accelerate its effort to eliminate malaria by increasing the funds allocated to the malaria elimination programme annually.
A Senior Associate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Soji Adeyi, said Nigeria should begin to increase internal funding for malaria elimination.
“Whether you turn to Premium Times for daily updates, in-depth investigations into pressing national issues, or entertaining trending stories, we value your readership. It’s essential to acknowledge that news production incurs expenses, and we take pride in never placing our stories behind a prohibitive paywall. Would you consider supporting us with a modest contribution on a monthly basis to help maintain our commitment to free, accessible new drugs. “Each year, reliance on external funding needs to be reduced. I looked at the summary of malaria reports from 2008 till now and what has been common is the complaint about the lack of funding. If this is a recurring problem what should be done is to find a new approach,” he said.
Similarly, Abdu Muktar, the National Coordinator of the Presidential Healthcare Initiative, called for the local production and manufacturing of medical supplies and for reducing the country’s dependence on drug imports.
According to him, the local production of anti-malaria and related medication will consider the peculiarity of the country’s terrain, population, and burden and would improve access to effective treatment.
The Regional Director of the WHO, African Region, Matshidiso Moeti, advised the country to accelerate its efforts to end Malaria by relying on adequate data for the implementation of health policies.
She urged the Nigerian authorities to increase data availability and access for the government agencies at national and subnational levels, and also for the use of the public.
Ms Moeti maintained that Nigeria must invest in data to get a clear understanding of the health issues in its rural communities
She said: “For Nigeria to accelerate its efforts, it needs to invest more in data from local communities across the country to know exactly what is going on there.
“We need to be sure that the data we have is viable, so we need to invest, starting from the local level. This will improve efficiency and reduce fragmentation.
“We have technology today that can help us improve some of the ways we are dealing with data in the health sector. We can use data to identify the location that needs intervention. This calls for collective intervention.”
Some of the stakeholders suggested that the country should improve its leadership and coordination to efficiently capture every corner of the country burdened by mosquito-borne disease.
According to the Director of Public Health, Chukwuma Ayandike, Nigeria, with proper coordination and leadership, will be able to achieve its target of zero malaria.
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What we are doing- Minister
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Mohammed Pate, said more needs to be done to fight malaria in the country.
He said the country is deploying tools that are available, safe, and effective for the population to improve their health.
Mr Pate said: “This is in line with the president’s agenda. We intend to deploy all tools that can control the spread of malaria; we intend to deploy nets, testing, and treatments of malaria. We also intend to provide affordable antimalarial drugs”.
Mr Pate further disclosed that the government also intends to use political and traditional leaders and private sector leaders in the fight against malaria in remote parts of the country.
“The country also needs to prioritise the use of a driven approach to accelerate progress, as well as better financing and better partnership to eliminate malaria with private organisations,” the minister added.
Malaria in Nigeria
Malaria transmission within the country is high and even higher in rural communities situated by the banks of major rivers and water bodies.
The disease is caused by tiny parasites called Plasmodium, often found in mosquitoes.
When an infected mosquito bites a person, it transfers these parasites into the bloodstream. The parasites then travel to the liver and multiply. After a few days, they reenter the bloodstream and infect red blood cells, causing the symptoms of malaria, such as fever, chills, and flu-like illness.
The National Malaria Elimination Programme(NMEP) reported that Malaria accounts for 60 per cent of outpatient visits to health facilities across the country and 30 per cent of childhood deaths.
Globally, there are an estimated 249 million malaria cases and 608,000 malaria deaths among 85 countries.
The African region carries a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden.
Two United States scientists who unraveled the human micro RNA have won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024.
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun won the coveted prize for their work on microRNA as their discoveries help explain how complex life emerged on earth and how the human body is made up of a wide variety of different tissues.
MicroRNAs influence how genes – the instructions for life – are controlled inside organisms, including humans.
Every cell in the human body contains the same raw genetic information, locked in our DNA.
However, despite starting with the identical genetic information, the cells of the human body are wildly different in form and function.
The electrical impulses of nerve cells are distinct from the rhythmic beating of heart cells. The metabolic powerhouse that is a liver cell is distinct to a kidney cell, which filters urea out of the blood.
The light-sensing abilities of cells in the retina are different in skillset to white blood cells that produce antibodies to fight infection.
So much variety can arise from the same starting material because of gene expression.
The US scientists were the first to discover microRNAs and how they exerted control on how genes are expressed differently in different tissues.
The medicine and physiology prize winners are selected by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden’s Karolinska Institute.
They said: “Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans.
“It is now known that the human genome codes for over 1,000 microRNAs.”
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has begun acting to curb effects of antibiotic pollution.
The new guidance on wastewater and solid waste management for antibiotic manufacturing sheds light on this important but neglected challenge ahead of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) taking place on 26 September 2024.
The emergence and spread of AMR caused by antibiotic pollution could undermine the effectiveness of antibiotics globally, including the medicines produced at the manufacturing sites responsible for the pollution.
Despite high antibiotic pollution levels being widely documented, the issue is largely unregulated and quality assurance criteria typically do not address environmental emissions. In addition, once distributed, there is a lack of information provided to consumers on how to dispose of antibiotics when they are not used, for example, when they expire or when a course is finished but there is still antibiotic left over.
“Pharmaceutical waste from antibiotic manufacturing can facilitate the emergence of new drug-resistant bacteria, which can spread globally and threaten our health. Controlling pollution from antibiotic production contributes to keeping these life-saving medicines effective for everyone,” said Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for AMR ad interim.
Globally, there is a lack of accessible information on the environmental damage caused by manufacturing of medicines.
“The guidance provides an independent and impartial scientific basis for regulators, procurers, inspectors, and industry themselves to include robust antibiotic pollution control in their standards,” said Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, WHO. “Critically, the strong focus on transparency will equip buyers, investors and the general public to make decisions that account for manufacturers’ efforts to control antibiotic pollution.”
In a concerted effort to curb brain drain, the Kebbi State Government has harmonised medical doctors’ salaries to be at par with their colleagues in the federal government’s tertiary health facilities.
Kebbi State Commissioner for Health, Musa Inusa-Isma’il, disclosed this at the handing over of ambulances to the state-owned health facilities at the Ministry of Health in Birnin Kebbi yesterday.
Inusa Isma’il, according to a statement by Ahmed Idris, the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, said the essence of the harmonisation was to retain the existing medical doctors and attract more to the services of the state.
According to him, the doctors across the state had already started enjoying the new salaries from August 2024.
He said the release of the vehicles was in fulfilment of Governor Nasir Idris’ promise to uplift health care services in the state.
“His Excellency said I should inform you, the beneficiaries of this gesture, that the vehicle should be strictly used for the intended purpose. It should not be used for anything else.
“If there is no referral case, each of the vehicles must be parked at the hospital by 6 pm. The governor said you should warn your drivers against reckless driving as well as violating the instructions.
“We should also do everything possible to reciprocate the gesture by working according to the terms and conditions attached,” he advised.
The benefiting health facilities included Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, Birnin Kebbi; State Teaching Hospital, Kalgo; General Hospital, Argungu; General Hospital, Yauri; General Hospital, Zuru; and General Hospital, Bunza.
In his speech, the permanent secretary of the ministry, Dr Shehu Koko, recalled that the ambulances were handed over to the ministry last Friday by the governor for the onward handover to the benefiting hospitals.
He observed that the ambulances would go a long way in improving the referral system in the state, adding that delays in reaching the secondary and tertiary facilities would be eliminated.
The permanent secretary attributed the high rate of maternal mortality in the country to delays in getting to the health facilities for proper medical care.
“We believe with the provision of these ambulances, part of the gaps we have in our referral system will be addressed, whereby patients who require secondary healthcare could be easily transported to secondary and tertiary health centres, where they can get such help,” he said.
In a goodwill message, Commissioner for Information and Culture Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed expressed gratitude to the governor for the support he has given to the ministry to excel.
While advising the beneficiaries to use the vehicles judiciously, the commissioner advised that services and maintenance of the vehicles must be prompt to derive the maximum benefits from the vehicles.
The commissioner also highlighted some achievements recorded by the government in the last year, including beautification of the state capital, completion of a multimillion-naira ultramodern state secretariat, road construction, construction and renovation of classrooms and upgrading of some health facilities, among others.