At a time that ailments like malaria and poliomyelitis no longer pose any real danger to citizens of many advanced countries of the world including some in sub-Saharan Africa, it is shameful and unacceptable that Nigeria, the self-acclaimed giant of Africa, is still battling to eradicate these diseases which can be easily combated. It is equally distressing that while concerted efforts are being made to kick out the polio scourge permanently from the country, the concerned authorities seem to have become complacent on the malaria scourge. Yet malaria, according to available statistics, kills the highest number of Nigerians annually among other killer diseases. Even the highly dreaded HIV/Aids pandemic is in a distant position. It is estimated that more than one million people die from malaria each year and most of them are children.
It is quite disturbing that Nigeria, along with the Democratic Republic of Congo jointly account for at least 30 per cent of all deaths from malaria worldwide. This embarrassing statistics emerged during discussions on malaria at the 63rd session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. Even though malaria is widely acclaimed as the disease of the tropics, the percentage of fatalities attributed to the ailment in Nigeria in comparison with the rest of the world is unacceptably high. And unless the root causes of the high number are addressed, the concession of one third of the $3 billion new funding pledged by leaders of Western countries and notable philanthropists for the fight against malaria to Nigeria and DR Congo by the UN would only amount to wasted money.
The pledges consist $1.6 billion from the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria; $1.1 billion from the World Bank; $168.7 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; $2 million from Ted Turner’s United Nations Foundation; and $28 million from a coalition of businesses led by Marathon Oil Corporation. An additional $83 million is expected from Britain while the United States approved $5 billion over five years as intervention fund. At the same time, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership recently launched a long-term Global Action Plan to unify the actions of the malaria community and spur additional funding of projects aimed at eradicating malaria.
The UN, on its part, has set 2015 as the year that it expects deaths from malaria to have become a thing of the past. But if the current state of infrastructure and hygienic practices in Nigeria do not undergo drastic changes, and nothing on ground points in the direction of progress, the UN target date may just be another unrealistic target in the same mold as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). As one of the two countries regarded as problem spots in the fight against malaria, Nigeria would stand a better chance of meeting this target date if governments, especially at the local government level, commit to this date. Candidly, it will require superhuman efforts to completely eradicate malaria in the country within the next seven years. Yet malaria is a preventable and treatable disease.
The task may appear daunting but the immense benefits of attaining this target should spur leaders at all levels into working towards its achievement. It is basic that only a healthy and disciplined workforce can lift a nation from the morass of underdevelopment to the status of a developed country. The full extent of the debilitating impact of malaria on the productivity of the average Nigerian worker may not yet be known but managers in the country’s public and private sectors know what absenteeism as a result of malaria attacks on their employees cost them annually in terms of productivity. What is being taken for granted in Nigeria was recognised long ago in advanced economies of the world where mosquitoes which spread the vector have been completely eradicated.
Given the parlous state of Nigeria’s health, education and energy sectors, the pessimism currently being expressed over the feasibility of attaining the goals of the Vision 2020 agenda which aims to catapult the country among the 20 leading economies of the world by 2020 is logical. Certainly, without a healthy and productive workforce, the country has no hope of achieving the lofty targets of Vision 2020. The case for concerted efforts towards eradicating the scourge of malaria in the country is therefore pressing. A visit to any government hospital or private clinic would reveal the depth of the problem because, at any point in time, the vast majority of patients usually suffer from malaria attacks.
Nigeria can emulate Ethiopia and Rwanda which have slashed malaria rates considerably by expanding access to impregnable bed nets. The successes achieved by these two countries have renewed the hope that the disease can be dramatically reduced in Africa and, in some areas, eliminated entirely. The Federal Government can send a delegation to any of the countries in Africa which have tamed the malaria scourge to gain valuable experience. Nevertheless, if the conditions which favour the survival of mosquitoes can be completely eradicated, the devastating consequences of malaria on human health and economic development can be curtailed or even eliminated. Blocked drainages, stagnant water and generally dirty environment of blighted areas provide the ideal environment for the breeding of mosquitoes. This is why urban renewal measures in Nigerian cities should be given priority. The task of eliminating malaria in the country may be a tough one but it is achievable. Nigerians should be encouraged to clean up their environment more often. A healthy nation is indeed a wealthy one.