The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to focus on the lessons learnt from the just concluded Support to National Malaria Program Phase 11 (SuNMaP-2), to eliminate disease in the country.
Minister of Health Osagie Ehanire, who made the announcement at the SuNMaP-2 dissemination meeting in Abuja, also noted that the country’s Malaria Elimination Project was solely donor-driven and would henceforth put mechanism in place to mobilise revenue inwardly.
He however called on private sector and philanthropists to assist the government in providing funds for the elimination of malaria from the country.
The National Team Lead of SuNMaP-2, Lola Mabogunje, in her presentation titled ”Partnership with Government in Achieving Sustainable Malaria Programming”, said the project, which was supposed to last for five years, had to be truncated due to COVID-19 pandemic. She also noted that each of the years of the project was to focus on transition, capacity building, transition, monitoring and sustainability.
On her part, Director of National Malaria Elimination Program, Health Ministry Olufunmilayo Adeniyi in her presentation noted that 27 per cent of global malaria cases, 23 per cent of malaria deaths and 57 million clinical cases of malaria were in Nigeria.
