By Gloria Essien
A major initiative aimed at preventing Antimalarial Drug Resistance (AMDR) has been launched in Nigeria.
The project, titled “Stop-AMDR: Scaling the Optimal Use of Multiple ACTs to Prevent Antimalarial Drug Resistance (Stop-AMDR),” was officially launched in Kigali, Rwanda, on July 22–23, 2025, bringing together key stakeholders working on AMDR across Africa.
The project focuses on Artemisinin-Based Combination Therapy (ACT) diversification—facilitating supply and delivery, demand and adoption, as well as ensuring quality, cost-effectiveness, and affordability.
It seeks to accelerate the uptake of interventions in participating countries and to generate evidence on the feasibility, acceptability, and cost of introducing Multiple First-Line Therapies (MFTs). The project also aims to support other partners’ efforts to improve the affordability of newer Artesunate-Based Combination Therapies (ACTs).
Target Countries
The primary activities of the Stop-AMDR project will be implemented in six countries.
Burkina Faso and Kenya have been selected as transition and accelerator countries—pilots have already been conducted there, allowing the project to build on existing lessons and prepare the countries for transition.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda have been selected as demonstration countries where the project will conduct research to assess the feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and implementation of MFTs in demonstration sites.
Nigeria’s Commitment
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Muhammad Ali Pate, stated that the ministry has put in place strong measures to accelerate malaria elimination in Nigeria.
He explained that the Stop-AMDR project evaluates the deployment of three therapies in Nigeria and that the four-year study will provide adequate time to observe the implementation process, adaptation, and outcomes across different population groups.
“We are pleased to categorically state that no threat to ACTs is faced by Nigeria currently. However, reports of partial resistance and delayed parasite clearance from some African countries call for caution and proactive measures.
“The population size, dynamism, and diversity of the country place it at risk any emergence of resistance will have serious consequences not just for Nigeria but for Africa and the world at large.
“Hence, the need for the Stop-AMDR project, which ensures proactive measures to protect the continued efficacy of ACTs in Nigeria.”
Dr. Pate emphasized that, beyond mitigating drug resistance, the project will also build capacity among frontline health workers through training for clinicians, pharmacists, and community health workers on MFT regimens, dosing, adherence counseling, pharmacovigilance, and data collection protocols.
He added that the project will operate under the Federal Ministry of Health, with oversight from the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) and collaboration with the State Ministries of Health in Enugu and Kwara.
A Research Advisory Committee (RAC) has also been instituted to provide technical, advisory, and scientific oversight, as well as data quality assurance and ethical integrity.
Dr. Pate further noted Nigeria’s remarkable progress in reducing malaria burden from 42% prevalence in 2010 to 22% in 2021, with further reductions expected through ongoing NMIS activities.
“This trajectory demonstrates the efficacy of sustained control measures and provides a foundation for targeted, evidence-based innovations like MFT.
“The rethinking malaria concept has been yielding results through the guidance of the Advisory on Malaria Elimination in Nigeria (AMEN) and the deployment of new tools such as the malaria vaccine, larval source management (LSM), and improved local manufacturing of malaria commodities, including the Affordable Medicines Facility (ADMFm),” Dr. Pate.
He called on all stakeholders policy-makers, health professionals, state governments, and international partners to embrace the initiative with the seriousness it deserves.
“Let us commit to meticulous implementation, transparent learning, and readiness to scale up this intervention for the collective responsibility toward the health and well-being of Nigerians.
“On this day, as we launch the Stop-AMDR project, I reaffirm our resolve to protect every citizen from the burden of malaria, to sustain our pharmaceutical arsenal against resistance, and to build a resilient health system capable of delivering high-quality care for generations to come.”
Implementation and Research Focus
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health, Daju Kachalom, described the initiative as an operational research study aimed at generating robust data on accessibility, feasibility, and cost.
“The ultimate objective is to inform scale-up decisions and policy guidelines,” she said, commending all agencies contributing to the research while calling for continued efforts to reduce the burden of malaria on Nigerian families.
The World Health Organization (WHO) Malaria Lead, Dr. Linda Ozo, stressed the importance of safeguarding current malaria medicines and urged strong commitment to ensure the project’s success.
Partner Commitments
One of the project partners, Jhpiego, warned that any resistance to Artemisinin-Based Combination Therapies would pose a serious global health threat.
Dr. Adetiloye Oniyire, Jhpiego’s Country Director, explained that the project functions as implementation research:
“It’s like building the ship and sailing with it you don’t wait for the outcome of the research before making policy decisions.
“It’s a four-year program where we learn as we go, adjusting systems based on emerging results,” Oniyire said.
The Stop-AMDR project will be implemented in Enugu and Kwara states, with three local government areas (LGAs) selected per state.
The Kwara State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Amina Ahmed, expressed her satisfaction with the state’s selection as a pilot area:
“We are happy that Kwara State was chosen to pilot the project.
Mosquitoes have killed far more Nigerians, Africans, and tropical populations than any other insect in the world. Malaria deserves the attention it is getting,” Ahmed said.
Similarly, the Enugu State Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu, pledged political commitment and collaboration to achieve significant success in malaria elimination:
“We are determined to achieve a major victory over malaria and protect the health of future generations.”
Other partners at the launch also promised their full support for the effective implementation of the Stop-AMDR project.