NIGERIA joined the rest of the world to commemorate World Malaria Day on Thursday, with patients lamenting the about 23 per cent rise in the cost of antimalarial medications between November 2023 and April 2024.
Though the Federal Government said it was taking steps for intervention, Nigerians still grapple with the high cost of prices of drugs, including antimalarial drugs.
World Malaria Day is commemorated every year on April 25 and recognises global efforts to control malaria, with the theme this year as, ‘Accelerating the fight against malaria for a more equitable world.’
Findings by our correspondent showed that the prices of some antimalarial drugs increased between 12 per cent and 23 per cent from November 2023 to April 2024.
In November, an Artesunate injection of 120mg was sold for N2,500. The 60mg of the injection was sold for N1,800. Coartem 80/480 was N3,300. Amatem soft gel was N2,500, with Lonart 80/480mg sold for for N2,850.
However, in April, market surveys showed that Artesunate 120mg is about N2,800; 60mg of the injection being sold for N2,000. Coartem 80/480 is now N4,000; Amatem soft gel, N3,000 and Lonart 80/480mg is being sold for N3,500.
A school teacher, Amina Yusuf, lamented that the hike in antimalarial drugs had become unbearable, calling for the government’s intervention.
“They keep telling us that we should not use concoctions to treat ourselves, yet we cannot afford the drugs at the pharmacies.
“Malaria is common in Nigeria, hence the need for the government to intervene. The high prices of drugs have become unbearable, and my take-home pay at the end of the month is not enough,” Yusuf said.
Mr Akin Ojo said he resorted to taking herbal medicines when he was diagnosed with malaria because he could not afford antimalarial drugs at the pharmacy.
“When taking those medications, you have to eat well. They will still tell you to buy Panadol or Paracetamol and, by the time you calculate everything, you will see that people like us cannot afford it,” he lamented.
In 2023, the former Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, said an estimated 55 million cases of malaria and nearly 90,000 malaria deaths occur each year in Nigeria.
Ehanire noted that the economic burden of malaria in Nigeria was estimated at $1.6bn (N687bn) in 2022 and may increase to about $2.8bn (N2tn) in 2030.
Speaking with The PUNCH, the national chairman of the Association of Community Pharmacists in Nigeria, Adewale Oladigbolu, said the government needed to invest adequately in the health sector to reduce the prices of drugs in the country.
“Patients are not meant to have a problem with the prices of drugs if the health insurance is working in Nigeria. The government needs to invest so we can make Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients because many of the antimalarial drugs are imported.
“For those that are locally made, they have to improve the APIs, and they are subject to changes in exchange rates.
“If the government invests in the sector and partners with the private sector, it will help in the reduction in price of the antimalarial drugs. Nigeria is probably the country that has the highest antimalarial consumption rate in the world,” he said.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation has said malaria remains a serious global health challenge that takes its heaviest toll on the most vulnerable.
The global health body noted that there is a need to strengthen and step up support for these populations as the best way to get back on track to achieve the global malaria targets.
On Thursday, it advocated increased coverage of insecticide-treated nets to win the battle against malaria, especially as it affects pregnant women and children.
A WHO official in Ekiti State, Dr Isaac Adedayo, speaking during the 2024 World Malaria Day sensitisation walk and celebration, organised by the Ekiti State Ministry of Health, also described malaria vaccines as breakthroughs for child health and malaria control.
Adedayo, who said Nigeria would soon be among the countries enjoying malaria vaccines, said, “Wider rollout of life-saving malaria vaccines in Africa is moving forward, with the vaccine already protecting children in Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi and more countries targeting introductions in the coming weeks and through 2024.”
He said efforts must continue to increase bed net coverage and use, adding that in 2022, only about 56 per cent of young children in sub-Saharan Africa slept under an insecticide-treated net.
At the event, the Ekiti State government distributed insecticide-treated nets and drugs to pregnant women, nursing mothers and children ages five and below, who had gathered at the Comprehensive Health Centre, Okeyinmi, Ado Ekiti, venue of the celebration.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Mrs Olusola Gbenga-Igotun, advised pregnant women and nursing mothers to shun habits that bred mosquitoes by embracing good hygienic practices and, as well, care about themselves and their children.
In Enugu, the state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Ikechukwu Obi, advised children and elderly people who are susceptible to malaria to stay indoors in the early hours of the evening.
Obi, at a press briefing to mark the 2024 World Malaria Day celebration held at the Ministry of Health, revealed that mosquitoes causing malaria were highly available in those hours.
Citing WHO statistics, Prof Obi said one out of three deaths from malaria globally occurred in Nigeria.
Citing Nigeria Malaria Report 2022, Prof Obi said, “In Enugu State, the prevalence of malaria is 30.2 per cent for Rapid Diagnostic Test and 24.3 per cent for microscopy among children under five years.”
He added, “Enugu State government, under the leadership of Mr Peter Mba, remains committed to revamping the health sector through infrastructural development and support for health services.
“I want to appreciate our supporting partners, WHO and UNICEF, among others, for their support in ensuring a reduction in the prevalence of malaria in Enugu State. I equally appreciate our media organisations in promoting health messages to the public.”
Osun State government, however, cautioned residents, especially women, to desist from using insecticide-treated nets for other purposes.
A cross-section of market women that received a team from the state Ministry of Health, led by the Programme Manager for the Osun State Malaria Elimination Programme, Dr Olufemi Oroge, at Igbona Market, Osogbo, during the malaria awareness walk on Thursday, had said some traders were in the habit of using insecticide-treated net to carry vegetables to market.
Commenting on the issue, Oroge urged them to desist from such practice, adding, however, that it had not yet been determined if treated net coming in contact with edibles can endanger lives.
Oroge, who said it remained unhygienic to use insecticide nets to carry edibles, called on the residents to ensure they sleep under insecticide-treated nets to prevent malaria.
He said, “Interestingly, some market women talked about their observation that people were bringing vegetables to the market with the mosquito net and they were concerned about the appropriateness of this, as well as the potential health impact. It is not the right practice.
“The right practice is that people should sleep under the mosquito net, any other use besides that is a misuse of the net. So if you are not sleeping inside the net, then you are misusing it.
“We are also not aware of the possible health impact of wrapping consumable foods in an insecticide-treated net, but they are nets treated with insecticide. This insecticide is powerful enough to kill mosquitoes and small insects, they are not meant to harm humans and they will not harm humans.
“But we do not know yet what the effect will be if they come in contact with food substances and we also can’t determine the level of exposure that will cause harm to humans if they should consume such. But we are partnering with market leaders that, if they observe such, they should take action and reach out to us.”
