Nigeria: Health Stakeholders Advocate Comprehensive Strategies To Eliminate Malaria

Inadequate supply of malaria commodities, dilapidated healthcare infrastructure, inefficient and inequitable distribution of health workers, and delayed disbursement of Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF) was brought to the front burner at a media briefing organized by the Civil Society in Malaria Control, Immunisation and Nutrition (ACOMIN).

At the event in Abuja, the National Coordinator, ACOMIN, Mr. Ayo Ipinmoye, said the shortage of medical supplies, lack of funds for ad-hoc staff, and limited capacity to address the needs of the Primary Healthcare Centers were hindering the elimination of malaria, Tuberculosis and HIV  in Nigeria.

The National Coordinator noted that when funds are not disbursed promptly, healthcare facilities struggle to provide essential services and respond to emerging health needs in the community.

Mr Ipinmoye there called for comprehensive strategies, preventive measures, and improved access to diagnostic services and treatment to achieve significant progress in the elimination of malaria in Nigeria.

“Despite efforts to resolve these record-keeping and data entry issues, these PHCs have not yet been reinstated into the database of Global Fund-supported facilities to resume receiving commodities, resulting in the unavailability of malaria services in these areas,”

“This lack of timely funding has often led to a shortage of medical supplies, lack of funds for ad-hoc staff and limited capacity to address the needs of the health center,”

He therefore stressed the need for governments at national, state, and local levels, philanthropists, and community leaders to take decisive action to solve the problem of poor funding to ensure significant progress in eliminating malaria and other diseases.

Also speaking, the Coordinator of the Country’s Coordinating Mechanism, Mr. Ibrahim Tajudeen who called for revitalization and upgrade of the country’s PHCs, said the present administration released some funds through the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund facilities to rehabilitate some selected primary health centers across the country.

The National Coordinator, Network of People Living With HIV/AIDS in Nigeria, NEPWHAN, Mr. Ibrahim Abdulkadir, who commended ACOMIN for their support of the network noted that recent efforts by the government are yielding results, where over two million HIV positive Nigerians are currently accessing treatment.