The Burden Of Malaria In Nigeria

Malaria is a lifethreatening mosquitoborne disease which affects about 500 million people, causing between 1 and 3 million deaths annually in the world {WHO, 2004}. During the

commemoration of the 2010 World Malaria Day, on Sunday, April 25, UNICEF declared malaria as the greatest killer of children in Nigeria.

In recent years, international agencies, including WHO and UNICEF, have been intensively involved in much of the Roll Back Malaria Campaigns. But the necessary partnerships and collaborations by the Federal Government of Nigeria and local corporate organizations to win this war against malaria have not been adequate. The WHO said that 90% of malaria deaths are in Africa and that in every 30 seconds, a child dies of malaria. Globally, about 50% of all malaria deaths occur in just five countries: Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Sudan, and Tanzania.

Confirmed statistics from the World Bank showed that out of the 1.2 million people who died of malaria in 2009, one million were from Sub-Saharan Africa, with Nigeria alone recording one-third of the deaths. Indeed, the World Bank reckons that Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo account for about 40% of all deaths arising from malaria disease on the continent, and warns that it may be difficult to attain the UN Millennium Development Goals {MDGs} in Africa if malaria is not checked and eliminated in the two countries.