…Nigeria loses US$1.1b to malaria absenteeism
… warms Malaria outbreaks imminent as new Malaria strain invades horn of Africa
By Joyce Remi- Babayeju
As the world marks the 2021 World Malaria Day, WMD, today the WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti has disclosed that due to lack of intermittent preventable treatment by two out of three pregnant women there were 11.6 million cases of malaria among pregnant women and 822,000 infants were born with low birth weight reported cases in 33 countries.
Moeti disclosed this in a message to mark the WMD today.
In her message to mark the 2021 WMD with the theme, ” Zero Malaria – Draw the Line Against Malaria, said every malaria case is preventable and every malaria death is unacceptable.
We grieve over 384,000 preventable malaria deaths in the WHO African Region in 2020, she said.
According to WHO, the spread of malaria in responsible for an average reduction of 1.3 of Africa’s economic growth while Nigeria loses an estimated US $1.1 billion every year to malaria absenteeism and productivity.
Furthermore WHO urged countries to help risk population countries to alleviate the malaria scourge citing that in 2019 one in three households did not have an Insecticide – Treated bed net and 48% of under- 5 children did not sleep under an ITN.
Meanwhile, WHO has raised an alarm over new strain of malaria invading the horn of African region caused by genetic mutations of new malaria parasites (pfhrp2/3) gene in recent times with the potential to cause devastating outbreaks in cities and towns.
The global health organization reiterated it’s commitment to revisit the stagnated progress in the malaria fight in the past five years in order to attain the 2030 targets of a malaria free continent.
It also called for urgent action to stop the scourge of this disease and to get on track towards the global malaria goals of a 90% reduction in cases and deaths by 2030.
“This includes investment to expand access to malaria interventions for groups that have been left behind, such as children and pregnant women.”
“Together, we need to move from the perception of malaria as a health problem, to understanding this disease as a threat to socio-economic development that requires a multispectral response.”
With an all-of-society response to draw the line against malaria, together, we can ensure African societies, economies and individuals, prosper, WHO said.
