Malaria prevalence drops to 15.2% as FG targets 50% cut

The federal government said malaria parasite prevalence among children aged six to 59 months had declined from 22 per cent in 2021 to 15.2 per cent in 2025, while setting a target to reduce malaria prevalence and malaria-attributable deaths by 50 per cent by 2030.

The coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, disclosed this at the launch of the 2025 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey Report and the National Malaria Strategic Plan 2026–2030 in Abuja on Thursday.

Pate, represented by the ministry’s permanent secretary, Daju Kachollom, said the decline marked progress in Nigeria’s malaria response, but cautioned that it should not be mistaken for elimination.

He said the 6.8 percentage-point decline reflected the government’s commitment to improving health outcomes under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The minister cited Kebbi State as an example of progress, noting that malaria prevalence there fell from 49 per cent in 2021 to 18 per cent in 2025.

“The 6.8 percentage-point decline reflects meaningful progress in Nigeria’s malaria response, in line with the federal government’s commitment to improving health outcomes under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” he said.

The minister also highlighted the use of insecticide-treated nets, saying 72.3 per cent of children and 80.6 per cent of pregnant women in households that owned the nets slept under one.

He stressed the need to strengthen consistent use of the preventive intervention as part of efforts to reduce malaria infections and deaths.

Also speaking, the national coordinator of the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), Dr Nnenna Ogbulafor, said the 2025 survey and the new strategic plan were intended to provide a common evidence-based framework for the government, development partners, civil society organisations and other stakeholders.

Ogbulafor said the survey followed the expiration of the previous malaria strategic plan in 2025 and would help the country assess progress, identify gaps and set priorities for the next five years.

She outlined six objectives for the launch, including presenting the survey findings, launching the new strategic plan, promoting shared understanding and ownership, strengthening state-level action, mobilising domestic financing and improving partnerships and accountability.

She said malaria prevalence varied across states, making it necessary to tailor interventions to local conditions. State-level data, she added, would help governments develop cost plans based on their specific disease burden and priorities.

“The strategic plan is hinged on sub-national tailoring. We know that malaria burden is very heterogeneous as we go across states,” she said.

Ogbulafor also called for stronger domestic financing, saying federal and state governments must commit resources to malaria elimination while working with development partners to close funding gaps.

She said the NMEP would engage existing coordination structures, including the National Malaria Working Group and technical working groups, to establish clear responsibilities, indicators and periodic reviews for tracking progress towards 2030 targets.