Malaria Elimination: FG establishes Advisory and Ministerial taskforce

The Federal Government has established an Advisory on Malaria Elimination in Nigeria (AMEN) and the Ministerial Task Force on Malaria Elimination in Nigeria as a significant step to accelerate progress towards malaria elimination.

The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate while inaugurating the advisory board and Ministerial Taskforce, explained that malaria poses a significant burden on Nigeria in terms of mortality, morbidity, lost work hours, out-of-pocket expenses, and government investments in treatments and interventions.

The Minister revealed this in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media & External Relations,Tashikalmah Hallah.

According to the statement, the Minister emphasized that despite being preventable and treatable, malaria continues to be a major challenge for the country.

“We need a paradigm shift from the standard approach to a more proactive and result-oriented method of defeating this disease.

“On this premise, we invited academics, malaria programme experts, development partners, private sectors, civil societies, business enthusiasts, policymakers as well as the political class to a roundtable discussion to rethink the country’s approaches and strategic views on malaria, which culminated to the setting up of the Advisory for Malaria Elimination in Nigeria (AMEN), among other things agendas, and the Ministerial Task Force on Malaria in Nigeria”, he said.

The Advisory on Malaria Elimination in Nigeria (AMEN) is chaired by Emeritus Prof. Rose Leke University of Yaoundé, Cameroun. Other members included Prof. Dyann Wirth, of the Harvard School of Public Health, Dr. Soji Adeyi President, of Resilience Health System, Prof. Ibrahim Abubakar, University College, London, and Prof. Peter Piot, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Prof. Pate said AMEN will offer evidence-based advisory services and meet regularly to review program evidence and provide guidance on aligning with best practices for malaria elimination. They will also collaborate with the CMH&SW and HMSH to review implementation when necessary. The team will meet every 6 months (twice a year).

Speaking on the the Ministerial Task Force, Prof Pate explained that it will consist of stakeholders from various sectors who have extensive knowledge of malaria implementation in Nigeria and are based in Nigeria.

“They will ensure that the advice and recommendations from the AMEN are carefully considered, analysed, and implemented. The Malaria Taskforce will collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Health, development partners, donor agencies, and the AMEN as needed.

“The task force will contribute to the overall goal of the National Malaria Elimination Program (NMEP) and work to reduce the incidence of malaria. It will also aim to improve the impact of malaria interventions through coordinated efforts in prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and awareness creation”, he added.

The Ministerial Taskforce is co-chaired by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare and the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, while the Chairman of the Malaria Technical Working Group in Nigeria, will serve as the Vice Chairman.

Other members of the Ministerial Taskforce, included the Permanent Secretary, Director, Public Health, representatives of WHO, Secretary, Country Coordinating Mechanism, GF, Representatives of the Civil Society Organizations Secretary, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Group of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (PMG, MAN), Strategic Adviser to the Hon. Ministers of Health on Malaria, Secretary of the Governors’ Forum and Technical Adviser to the Coordinating Minister on ATM.

The National Coordinator of the National Malaria Elimination Programme serves as the Secretary. The team will meet every 6 to 8 weeks, as well as during other scheduled meetings. The Minister also mentioned that the membership will be reviewed biennially for renewal or replacement to achieve optimum results.