REPORTER: AMAKA ISIRUE
Malaria prevalence in Enugu State has crashed from 24.5% to 9.9% in four years, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. George Ugwu, announced this at an event marking World Malaria Day in Enugu.
He said the state is now pushing to drive the rate below 5% as free malaria testing and treatment expands to 548 health facilities across the area.
Prof. Ugwu stated that the State Ministry of Health and malaria partners have been working tirelessly to ensure the new target of reducing malaria prevalence to below five percent is met.
He said malaria remains a huge public health challenge and a leading cause of illness and death, particularly among children under five and pregnant women.
”We are working together to come up with effective programs to bring down the Prevalen of malaria in Enugu state. Today we gathered people from the Nigerian Governors forum, from the National Malaria Elimination program of the federal ministry of health from our partners, Jhpiego, ECEWS and all of us are here. We have deployed effective approaches to reduce the prevalence of malaria. The previous time it was checked in 2021, it was 24 %, recently, the last ⅙ at with all the work that governor Peter Mbah is doing in Enugu is 9% . And what 1has changed, working with our partners, the governor provided enabling environment in the ministry. Currency, we are doing free malaria testing and in 527 health institutions and health facilities cutting across public health facilities,Primary health care centers and even some selected private health care facilities.”
We have also embarked on extraordinary awareness creation because we have to let the citizens know what we are doing if you look around the city you can even see some bill board where you can see “Stop malaria” not every fever is malaria ” We are also mobilizing our people doing a lot of medical outreaches reaching out to the underserved areas to ensure that they get treatment.” Ugwu also said.
In her remarks, the wife of the Governor of Enugu State, Mrs Nkechinyere Ihuoma Mbah, who received the Malaria Ambassador award, pledged stronger commitment to zero malaria prevalence in the state. She was represented by the wife of the Speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, Mrs Chinyere Ugwu.
”I call on everyone to join us in this fight against malaria. We have integrated Malaria vaccines in the state immunization program so as to protect our children under 5, pregnant women and nursing mothers. This award is not mine alone, I dedicate it to every woman, malaria partners and all health workers in the state who have been working tirelessly to save our children and women from mosquitoes malaria bite and attack.”
The Programme Coordinator, Enugu State Malaria Elimination Programme, Dr. Ifeoma Otiji, advised residents to take advantage of free malaria testing. She called on individuals to sleep under insecticide-treated nets, use indoor residual spraying, eliminate stagnant water, seek early testing and complete treatment.
In an interview with the press, the Chief Executive Officer, Excellence Community Education Welfare Scheme, ECEWS, Dr Andy Eyo, said the insurance scheme package for the one thousand pregnant women enrolled covers free malaria testing and treatment, antenatal services, delivery and post-natal care.
”We comit to ensuring that we eliminate Malaria in Enugu state. Today we have been able to take services to all 548 hospitals in Enugu state. Today also, Enugu state indigens are recieving test for Malaria free, they are also recieving drugs for Malaria free and this is courtesy of the National Malaria Elimination project funded by the ISDP and Enugu state government and I am really glad that a day like this has come. We are also very glad to celebrate that the Enugu state prevalence for Malaria has dropped from over 24.5% to 9.9%.
Kudos to the governor because his enabling environment has made it easy for all of us players in the field to come and intervene and help our people to be more productive.”
He further stated “Remember, every time you come down with Malaria your productivity level comes low. Many people can no longer work as effectively as they should because of malaria.
If malaria is prevented, then they can work better, make money, pay their taxes and the state will be better for all of us.”
Dr Eyo said that residents of Enugu are now receiving malaria tests and drugs free in 548 hospitals under the National Malaria Elimination Project funded by the Enugu State Government and partners.
”The funding is actually from the Nigerian Malaria Elimination program through the ISDP. So today also, the board of management has commissioned that we provide health insurance for 1000 pregnant women in Enugu state. You may see some pregnant women. A lot of these women now we will pay the premium to the state Universal Health Coverage and they will be able to go to the hospital fot their antenatal care, they will be able to deliver free at the hospitals. They will also be able to participate in the malaria in pregnancy services which has been provided through our hospitals. The governor has created enabling environment and also the funding that we have received.
The commissioner for health in Enugu state is leading this vehicle from the front. Like I said earlier in my statement, we need more commissioners of health like Prof. George Ugwu” he also said.
In a consultative forum, the project director. Jhpiego, an affiliate of John Hawpkins University, Dr. Bright Orji noted that they were in Enugu to support the state government through the ministry of health and also through the state malaria elimination program on the world Malaria day.
”The session is about working with Enugu state and government of Nigeria to ensure that we don’t experience anti malaria drugs resistance. There is a resistance to anti Malaria drugs that has already set in and some African countries are already experiencing this, but we do not have it in Nigeria, So the government is being proactive working with us to ensure that we don’t have it in Nigeria. This is because if we look at malaria, the indicator and indices available to us, Nigeria at the moment contributes the highest number of global malaria death. About 38% of global malaria death among children under 5 come from Nigeria and this is not a good record, so if we have resistance it will also compound things and that is the reason the government want to make sure it doesn’t happen”
”Malaria vaccines have come to stay, right now we are targeting under 5 but Nigeria is rolling out in parts so we have it in at least 4 states where it has been rolled out and gradually we will cover all the states in Nigeria. The vaccine provides that level of protection just like the drugs we have for immunization. We are able to deploy all the tools available to us to ensure that we do not make malaria a Nigerian person. So vaccine works but gradually it’s been rolled out . The way it works is that it attacks the parasite from the time you are beaten by mosquitoes so that it does not give you disease rather protect you from it. At the moment, we have the one that can last up to 3 years but remember these intervention are coming up newly and we are working to ensure that it has come to stay . But more importantly we protect children under 5 because they have not developed the immunity to be able to resist malaria mosquitoes bite. You need to acquire immunity. The first attack by mosquitoes is usually fatal since they are yet to have what God puts in our body what resists malaria mosquitoes bite and that is what the drug do when it comes to protect the children. Dr Bright Orji also narrated.
The Ministry of Health earlier held a roadshow with stakeholders and partners, distributing fliers on free malaria testing and treatment.
The theme of this year’s World Malaria Day is “Driven to End Malaria: Now We Can. Now We Must.”
Sunday, June 7th, 2026
