As part of efforts to provide an avenue for all stakeholders in the fight to make Nigeria a malaria-free nation, the country’s Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has announced that a nine-point strategic plan has been set up by the ministry.

The Honorable Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, made the announcement at the end of a ministerial roundtable meeting held in Abuja recently.

The roundtable meeting was convened to provide an avenue, for both internal and external stakeholders in the fight against malaria, to discuss and find solutions on how Nigeria can eliminate malaria.

Professor Pate further mentioned that there must be a shift from idealism to pragmaticism, and to be practical at what is possible, the need to setup an Advisory on Malaria Elimination in Nigeria (AMEN), which will be independent but also combining both internal and external part to provide possible solutions to eliminate malaria in Nigeria.

“We need to shift from idealism to pragmaticism, to be practical at what is possible. We have high ambition but also high realism, from business as usual to business unusual…” He emphasizes.

The Minister stressed that a programmatic costing plan is another key action in which the inputs of sub-nation will be included, adding that there is need for a shift from pragmatic approach to more coherent and more coordinated sector wide programme on malaria, emphasizing that an approach that move the nation to one side to what World Health Organization has been doing.

Pate further mentioned that there is need for shift from the present administrations of malaria program to reality, and the capacity of those to lead it’s actors in the fight against malaria at all levels, hence the need to optimize case management on malaria that will provide homemade and affordable medicines for malaria, as well as relentless focus on operational excellence, urging that the external stakeholders and the National Assembly will be contacted for additional funding.

Other key strategic plans according to the Minister are community action and leadership involvement adding that other MDA’S such as Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, and Women Affairs will be contacted for support to fight malaria in the country.

The coordinating minister who stressed the need for a shift from dependency to self-sufficiency which will lead to autonomy announced that data, accountability and learning is another key action in the crusades, explaining that the academia will be mobilized to contribute for positive results.

The Minister also determined to shift from focus on inputs and processes to increasing shift on the outcome, which is reducing malaria burden to increasing survival for reducing mortality and morbidity and from “indeficient” processes to deficient approach even with the limited resources.

To achieve this, the Minister said that the local production mechanism of drugs will be encouraged, calling on partners both internal and global to contribute to the successful elimination of malaria.

Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, also mentioned that innovating in delivery and financing is another key action in the fight against malaria among the citizens, hoping that Global Fund and Federal Ministry of Finance will support the initiative in addition to the resources that will be mobilized from the development partners.

Earlier, in his opening, remarks the honorable minister, lamented that despite efforts being made previously to end malaria in the country, there is no satisfaction on the level of handling malaria in Nigeria.

He, therefore, urged the discussants to critically deliberate on how the nation can employ technical resources to better and more effective, and equitable ways to get the nation out of malaria.

Pate further said that they should also find how the ministry can roll in the same direction consistent with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s direction to improve positively on the health outcomes of Nigerians and how it can align its efforts to coordinate better and achieve the desired objective.

He stated that Nigeria has been blessed with a diversity of foods available geographically spread out that when optimized and combined together will give the nation more results in an effort to make the nation malaria zero free.

He was optimistic that the discussions and conversations would bring out the responsibility of all for action to achieve the elimination of malaria in the country.

Four paper presentations were made on malaria implementation in Nigeria by Prof. Olugbengba Mokuolu, strategic adviser to the Hon. Ministers on Malaria Elimination in Nigeria with the title Efficacy and effectiveness of current and future tools for Malaria Control, Prof. Dyann  Wirth of Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Chairperson MPAG, visually presented on” Defeating Malaria with focus on success stories from elimination countries,  a paper titled “Resilient systems strengthening for malaria elimination was presented by Dr. Soji Adeyi, President of Resilient Health System and Senior Associate at the John’s Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Dr.

 Ibrahim Maikori presented on Expected Impact on additional tools’.

Source: FMoHSW