The United States government, through its Presidential Malaria Initiative (PMI), has contributed $914 million to fight malaria in Nigeria since 2011, according to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
In 2023 alone, the US government supported Nigeria with $73 million to combat the disease.
This information is contained in PMI’s latest report, which was released by the US Embassy in Abuja yesterday. The report states that the funding and programmes covered the delivery of 13.4 million bed nets, six million fast-acting medicines, and 11.8 million malaria rapid diagnostic tests to clinics and communities in Nigeria over the past year.
USAID also disclosed that in 2023, more than 7,200 Nigerian health workers were trained to strengthen their skills in malaria detection, treatment, and how to provide lifesaving care for their communities.
USAID Nigeria Deputy Mission Director Sara Werth lauded the Federal Ministry of Health for collaborating with the United States government and working to foster robust and effective malaria services in the future. Werth urged the government of Nigeria to invest in making malaria programming more efficient and effective using data and other evidence to inform malaria implementation and drive faster results.
Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites transmitted to humans through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. The World Health Organisation estimated that Nigeria had nearly 67 million cases in 2022, which accounted for 27 per cent of the global malaria burden. Nigeria also accounted for 31 per cent of global deaths and 38 percent of global deaths in children under the age of five, in 2022.
Worldwide, PMI benefited more than 700 million people each year and had helped save over 10.6 million lives and prevented 1.7 billion malaria infections since 2000. Dr David Walton, U.S. Global Malaria Coordinator, lauded the Nigerian government’s support and the efforts of Nigerian health workers who are always on the front lines to protect their communities from malaria.
