REVEALED: 25% of global malaria cases from Nigeria

The 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, carried out by the National Population Commission in conjunction with the National Malaria Elimination Programme of the Ministry of Health, has revealed that Africa shouldered over 80 per cent of the global malaria burden, out of which Nigeria accounted for about 25 per cent.


The survey was funded by the United States Agency for International Development, Global Fund, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, United States Population Fund and the World Health Organisation.

While analysing the survey in Port Harcourt on Thursday during a media workshop, UNICEF Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist, Maureen Zubie-Okolo, said the survey stated that only 31 per cent of children, aged 12 to 23 months in Nigeria, had received all basic vaccination, with Sokoto State having the lowest coverage with two per cent.

She said, “Malaria, a preventable, treatable, and curable disease, is endemic in Nigeria and remains the foremost public health problem in the country, taking its greatest toll on children under age five and pregnant women.

“Africa still bears over 80 per cent of the global malaria burden, of which Nigeria accounts for about 25 per cent globally.”

According to her, the survey stated that infant mortality rate was 67 deaths per 1,000 live births for the five year period preceding the survey, while less than five mortality was 132 deaths per 1,000 live births. This implies that more than one in eight children in Nigeria die before their 5th birthday.