The Senate on Wednesday passed a bill seeking to establish the National Agency for Malaria Elimination in Nigeria.

The upper chamber passed the bill after considering the report of its Committee on Health, presented by Banigo Ipalibo, its chairman.

The clauses of the bill were considered at the Committee of the Whole.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the passage of the bill after a majority of the senators supported it through a voice vote.

The bill was sponsored by the senator representing Delta North Senatorial District, Ned Nwoko.

The legislation seeks to establish an agency to coordinate national efforts to prevent, control, and eventually eliminate malaria in Nigeria. It also mandates the agency to formulate and periodically review a national malaria elimination strategic plan and coordinate the implementation of malaria programmes and interventions across the country.

In addition, the bill provides for the establishment of zonal and state offices to drive malaria elimination efforts nationwide. The agency is expected to institutionalise malaria elimination through a framework backed by law, science and accountability.

The bill will be transmitted to the House of Representatives for concurrence before being forwarded to President Bola Tinubu for assent.

Report of the committee

Presenting the committee’s report, Mrs Ipalibo, who represents Rivers West Senatorial District on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said the proposed agency would serve as the central coordinating body for malaria prevention and elimination in Nigeria.

“The agency will be responsible for coordinating all national efforts towards the prevention, control and eventual elimination of malaria,” she said.

The senator stated that stakeholders who participated in the public hearing overwhelmingly supported the bill, noting that it would provide institutional mechanisms at all levels of government to tackle malaria, which has remained a major public health challenge in the country.

She added that the establishment of the agency would help shift Nigeria’s approach from largely treating malaria cases to preventing and ultimately eliminating the disease.

Contributing to the debate, Mr Nwoko said that eliminating malaria in Nigeria is both practical and achievable.

“In the course of my research on the elimination of Malaria, I went to Antarctica with some of my legislative aides, after which I came up with the bill,” he said.

He maintained that malaria elimination could be achieved through the establishment of a dedicated agency focused on effective waste management, fumigation and vaccine research.

“Eradicating or Eliminating Malaria is achievable in Nigeria through a special agency for that purpose. The agency, when established, shall, through effective waste management, fumigation and research on vaccines, see to the elimination of malaria in Nigeria,” he added.

After announcing the passage of the bill, Mr Akpabio described the legislation as a landmark intervention in the fight against malaria, which he noted remains one of the most common diseases affecting Nigerians.

Malaria remains one of Nigeria’s most serious public health challenges despite decades of interventions by governments, international organisations and development partners.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Nigeria bears the highest malaria burden globally, accounting for about 27 per cent of the world’s malaria cases and nearly 32 per cent of malaria-related deaths. Nigeria, alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Niger Republic, accounts for more than half of all malaria deaths recorded in Africa.

The disease is transmitted by bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes and remains endemic across the country, particularly during the rainy season, when mosquito breeding increases.

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Children under the age of five and pregnant women are the most vulnerable groups. WHO estimates show that children under five account for the overwhelming majority of malaria-related deaths in Africa. In Nigeria, malaria is one of the leading causes of illness, hospital visits and deaths among young children.

Aside from its health consequences, malaria imposes a significant economic burden on Nigeria. The disease contributes to school absenteeism, reduced productivity, increased household healthcare spending, and pressure on the country’s health system. Experts estimate that Nigeria loses billions of naira annually through treatment costs, reduced workforce productivity and preventable deaths linked to malaria.

Although the country has made progress through the distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets, seasonal malaria chemoprevention programmes, indoor residual spraying and improved access to diagnosis and treatment, the disease continues to pose a major threat due to poor sanitation, inadequate healthcare access, drug resistance, climate-related factors and funding gaps.

In 2024, Nigeria received and began rolling out the Oxford R21 malaria vaccine, becoming one of the first countries in Africa to deploy the vaccine as part of efforts to reduce infections and deaths among children. Health authorities, however, maintain that vaccination must be complemented by existing preventive measures such as mosquito nets, environmental sanitation and prompt treatment.

The Federal Capital Territory Primary Health Care Board (FPHCB) says all arrangements have been concluded to vaccinate more than 1.5 million children during the 2026 Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW).

The Mandate Secretary, FCT Health Services and Environment Secretariat, Adedolapo Fasawe, said this during a media orientation ahead of the exercise scheduled to hold from 3 June to 7 June.

Represented by Okoli Nicholas, acting director of Primary Health Care at FPHCB, Ms Fasawe described MNCHW as a biannual high-impact programme designed to deliver essential healthcare services to families.

She explained that the exercise would intensify routine immunisation services, provide Vitamin A supplementation for children aged six to 59 months and strengthen child survival interventions.

According to her, children aged 12 to 59 months would receive deworming medication, while health workers would also screen for malnutrition and provide feeding and hygiene counselling.

Ms Fasawe added that pregnant women would receive antenatal and postnatal care services to improve maternal and newborn health outcomes across communities in the FCT.

“We will focus on iron-folate supplementation, malaria prevention in pregnancy where indicated, breastfeeding and newborn care counselling, and we offer family planning information and services.”

She emphasised that the media had a critical role in ensuring that families received accurate information about the programme and understood where and when services were available.

“The media’s role in this effort is pivotal. You help families know when and where to go. You build trust by sharing clear, verified information.

“You counter rumours with facts, and you shine a light on the dedication of our frontline health workers while holding us accountable,” she said.

Ms Fasawe emphasised that all services offered during the exercise would be provided free of charge to beneficiaries across the FCT and surrounding communities.

She said the programme would be implemented in all Primary Health Care Centres across the six area councils, designated outreach points and hard-to-reach settlements through mobile teams.

“Parents should bring their child’s health card; if they don’t have one, it will be provided on site. Zero-dose and defaulting children are welcome; no child will be turned away.”

She appealed to media practitioners to help disseminate the campaign messages through community radio stations, newspapers, social media platforms and programmes targeting underserved populations.

“Our appeal to you is to take these messages beyond city centres, into community radio, into neighbourhood papers, and social media groups.

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“And through programmes that reach informal settlements, rural communities and nomadic populations,” Ms Fasawe said.

In her remarks, Chinyere Ekwueme, state nutrition officer, FCT, said mobile medical teams would also visit schools, churches and mosques to ensure that eligible children received vaccinations.

She said the outreach strategy was designed to improve coverage and to reach children whose families might face challenges in accessing fixed health facilities during the exercise.

Also speaking, Umeh Chinyere, state health education officer, FPHCB, appealed to journalists to support efforts to strengthen public confidence in the board’s healthcare programmes.

She said accurate and balanced reporting would encourage greater participation in the exercise and help address misconceptions that often discouraged parents from accessing immunisation services. (NAN)