The federal government has appointed President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote as the head of the Nigeria End Malaria Council (NEMC).
Also appointed are prominent business leaders Femi Otedola and Tony Elumelu, Chairman of FBN Holdings Plc and Geregu Power Plc, and Chairman of UBA Group and founder of Heirs Holdings, respectively.
Other members of the council which is to lead the initiative aimed at eradicating malaria in Nigeria are Mr. Ope Abegunde, Council’s Executive Secretary, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, representatives from the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, members of the National Assembly’s joint Health Committees and representatives from various women’s organisations.
Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Tunji Alausa, in a remark at the inauguration of the council in Abuja, highlighted the urgency of the initiative to eradicating malaria, a persistent health challenge in the country.
“Malaria continues to pose a severe challenge in Nigeria, and donor support alone has proven inadequate.’’ He said.
Speaking on the limitations of current interventions, the minister disclosed that despite the provision of antimalarial medicines and preventive measures like treated nets, these efforts have not sufficiently addressed the scale of the problem.
“Nigeria accounts for over a quarter of the world’s malaria cases and approximately a third of malaria-related deaths globally,” the minister pointed out.
Malaria remains a leading cause of childhood mortality and is responsible for a substantial number of hospital visits.
Alausa noted that no country has ever successfully eliminated malaria through donor support alone, leading to the creation of the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) in 2009 and the Malaria Scorecard in 2011 to monitor and advocate for malaria control efforts.
Dangote, in a remark, emphasised the need for a united effort across various sectors to drive the initiative forward, while expressing delight to be appointed to support in the malaria eradication drive.
In their separate remarks, Otedola and Elumelu, highlighted the critical role of coordinated efforts, and the need to maintain focus on malaria eradication.
