Religious Leaders in Nigeria Call for Concerted Effort in Fighting Malaria

Abuja, 07 March, 2024 / 4:44 PM

Religious leaders under the auspices of the Nigerian Interfaith Action Association (NIFAA) are calling for concerted efforts in generating funds towards fighting malaria in the West African country. 

In a Wednesday, March 6 report following NIFAA's 9th Board of Trustees meeting, the religious leaders expressed concern that the malaria mortality rate, especially among pregnant women and children under five years in the country, is high.

“A concerted and sustainable effort is needed towards generating funding internally for malaria activities,” said the religious leaders who included representatives of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). 

They asked for an increase in the number of Nigerian states served by the U.S Presidential Malaria Initiative (PMI) from the current eight.

PMI is a U.S government initiative that assists sub-Saharan African countries in the fight against malaria.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Nigeria has the highest number of malaria-related deaths globally at 26.8 percent. 

In the report, NIFAA members urged the Nigerian government and citizens “to give more attention to the health needs of the citizens, especially to malaria, which poses one of the most common health challenges in Nigeria with high mortality rate.”

Acknowledging the role of faith communities in the fight against the tropical disease, they committed themselves to “utilizing its networks to engage with the state governors and other relevant stakeholders not only of the eight (8) PMI states but across the country for increased funding commitment for malaria elimination.”

“NIFAA will continue to work with the Ministry of Health and other agencies of government in order to address the health and other social needs of Nigerians,” the religious leaders said.