Laments donor dependence, fake drugs, and stalled malaria targets; urges urgent domestic funding and collaboration to meet 2030 elimination goal_ The Chairman, House Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Malaria, Rt. Hon. Amobi Godwin Ogah, has called for urgent national action and renewed political commitment towards combating malaria.Delivering a welcome address at the NASS/NMEP National Malaria Retreat, held at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, from July 31 to August 1, 2025, Hon. Ogah warned that Nigeria’s current approach risks falling short of the 2030 malaria elimination target.He emphasized that malaria remains Nigeria’s deadliest public health challenge and continues to cripple economic productivity.Citing the 2023 World Malaria Report, Ogah revealed alarming statistics, that Nigeria Accounts for 31% of Global Malaria DeathsHe added that Nigeria accounted for 27% of global cases and 31% of all deaths, as the country accounted for 249 million malaria cases and 608,000 deaths globally in 2022. *Malaria remains the leading cause of hospital attendance in the country* The House member further revealed that in Nigeria, malaria is responsible for 25-30% of under-five mortality and 10% of maternal deaths, despite over $10 billion spent on interventions since 2000, Nigeria has stalled on the World Health Organization’s Global Technical Strategy (GTS) from 2016 to 2030.“I have severally called for a state of emergency on malaria because the disease is endemic, devastating, and crippling our economy. Without decisive action, the 2030 elimination goal will remain a dream,” Ogah warned.Ogah criticized the National Malaria Program and stakeholders, accusing them of failing Nigerians by allowing over-reliance on foreign donors and grants, Zero budgetary allocation for TB and Malaria in 2024, Proliferation of fake and substandard antimalarial drugsFailure to collaborate on vital baseline studies. He disclosed that the committee had queried the TB and malaria program managers and confronted the coordinating minister for Health, insisting that “nobody can love Nigeria more than Nigerians” and that the status quo of donor dependency is unacceptable.“We must reduce our over-reliance on foreign grants and mobilize domestic resources. Nigeria must fund its own public health priorities if we are serious about saving lives,” Ogah stated.Hon. Ogah reaffirmed the House Committee’s commitment to providing legislative mechanisms and interventions to support malaria elimination efforts.He appealed to National Malaria Elimination Program (NMEP), Roll Back Malaria Partnership, Malaria Consortium, and other key stakeholders to present their plans and programs to Parliament for mutual collaboration.“We are eager to change the narrative and make Nigerians reap the benefits of universal health care. With better synergy and political commitment, we can reignite malaria elimination efforts and meet the 2030 goal,” he said.Declaring the National Malaria Retreat open, Ogah expressed optimism that the new leadership at NMEP will foster robust engagement with Parliament to galvanize a unified national response.It is hoped that the retreat which attracted lawmakers, health experts, donor agencies, and implementing partners, will help chart actionable strategies to address issues such as Funding gaps in malaria response, Counterfeit drugs and regulatory failures, Weak surveillance and community health engagement, as well as Accelerated domestic resource mobilization*”As Nigeria faces a public health crisis, Ogah’s message is clear: political will, domestic investment, and collaboration are the only paths to eliminating malaria and saving millions of lives”.
