Lagos Poised To Become First City In West Africa To Eliminate Malaria- Health Commissioner

The Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, has disclosed that the state is on the verge of making history, positioning itself to become the first West African geopolitical zone to eliminate malaria.

This, Abayomi says, will not be through a vaccine or genetically modified mosquitoes, but by employing “simple common sense” medical practices and a robust public health strategy.

This ambitious goal is driven by the state/ministry and Prof. Wellington Oyibo, Director of the Centre for Transdisciplinary Research for Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that for decades, malaria has been a prevalent health challenge across Africa.

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says.

According to it, there is an estimated 236 million malaria cases (95 per cent of global cases) and 590,935 malaria deaths (97 per cent of global deaths) in African member states in 2022.

Abayomi said there was need to get malaria out of the region.

He said this at the Study Kick-Off of Pathway to Pre-Elimination and Digitisation Project in Lagos State.

Its focus is on Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test and Microscopy Comparative Study & Assessment of PPMVS’ Capacity to Manage Malaria and Febrile Illnesses.

“It is very, very important that we do that once and for all,’’ he said.

The commissioner said, “Lagos has diligently waged a “war against malaria’ for the past 20 years.

“The cumulative efforts have yielded remarkable results,” he noted.