The House of Representatives Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Chairman, Rep. Amobi Ogah, requested the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency on malaria on Sunday in Abuja.
He made the accusation in a message he released to mark World Mosquito Day in 2023. The world observes World Mosquito Day on August 20. Fighting the Mosquito: The World’s Deadliest Killer is the topic for the 2023 remembrances.
Ogah declared that every effort must be made to exterminate the deadly mosquito because of the harm that malaria brings to humanity. In spite of the fact that malaria seemed to still defy treatment, he said, the committee was aware of the difficulties Nigerians were facing in the fight against the disease.
He stated also that the committee would work with relevant stakeholders to ensure that monies budgeted for the fight against malaria were judiciously used. “According to the WHO, four African countries accounted for more than half of malaria deaths worldwide.
“Nigeria tops this list with 31.3 per cent, followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo with 12.6 per cent; Tanzania, 4.1 per cent and Niger, 3.9 per cent,’’ he stated.
Ogah stressed that there was a need to work toward malaria eradication by waging a serious war on the vector mosquito. He charged the Federal Government to give more attention to eradicating mosquitoes by engaging critical stakeholders in the health sector. He also decried the situation where, he stated, government was not paying attention to the vector mosquito.
Ogah reiterated the committee’s resolve to also tackle the prevalence of fake malaria medicines in the country to stave off further deaths.
