NMA expresses concern over Nigeria’s exclusion from malaria vaccine rollout

The Ogun State Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Dr. Kunle Ashimi has expressed concern over the exclusion of Nigeria from the list of African countries to benefit from the new malaria vaccine rollout by the World Health Organisation and its partners. While lamenting that Nigeria is still grappling with high figures of malaria cases, Ashimi stressed that the country not benefiting from the vaccine would make eliminating the disease by the year 2030 a herculean task.

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Nine African countries are to receive 18 million doses of the first-ever RTS, S/AS01 malaria vaccine. But Nigeria, which accounts for an estimated 38.4 per cent of global malaria deaths in children aged under five years, is not among the nine that will benefit in the last quarter of 2023 to begin to have access to the vaccine.

The countries listed by Gavi Vaccine Alliance, WHO, and UNICEF are Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger Republic, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.

Gavi, WHO, and UNICEF had explained in a joint statement that the rollout will begin by early 2024 and that the vaccines are already in use in three African countries—Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi.

Reacting to this, the NMA chairman said that excluding Nigeria from the vaccine rollout will slow down the fight against the disease in the country. He stressed that beyond the issue of vaccines, the country has not been able to find solutions to other factors that promote malaria.

Identifying poor drainage systems, dirty environments, and stagnant water as key issues mitigating Nigeria’s effort at ensuring zero malaria spread, Ashimi maintained that all stakeholders need to partner in order to achieve total eradication of the disease.

He said: “The implication of Nigeria missing out is very simple. We will eventually not catch up with the 2030 goals. While others are recording a reduced number of cases and death, Nigeria will still be grappling with its own figure because even beyond the issue of vaccines, other factors that promote malaria are still there. While other countries will be recording reductions in that regard, it will continue in Nigeria. While those other countries are able to save lives, we will still be looking for how to save ourselves from the disease.

“One of the things that you will find is that malaria reduces productivity. People who are sick can’t go to work, even if they do, they can’t perform optimally. Aside from affecting productivity, the amount of money that families will spend on malaria treatment will also take away part of their disposable income. Apart from the fact that it is a two-headed sword because when you are sick, you can’t work to earn money, and you will still have to spend to get well. The mortality rate will just still be there” he added.

On how to curb the spread of malaria, the NMA chairman said it must be through collaborative efforts. According to him, this requires having a good drainage system and the absence of stagnant water anywhere.

“We can also prevent ourselves by sleeping inside insecticide-treated nets or using pesticides to kill mosquitoes. Insecticides also have their own side effects because people can inhale the chemicals. Insecticides treated net is the best, but the availability is very low”.

Dr. Ashimi, who is a principal medical officer at Federal Medical Centre, Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, Ogun State, urged the government to begin plans to produce local malaria vaccines, so as to make it readily available for Nigerians.

“What we expect the government to do is if there is still any window to get into this project, they can still apply, or as an alternative, start local vaccine production,  This will make the vaccine readily available to people. The government needs to work hard to eradicate the environmental factors that promote malaria breeding and prevent malaria parasites from getting in contact with people. The use of insecticide-treated nets must be emphasized and the nets made available,” he said.

Wumi/PUNCH