By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
The Senate has stressed that Nigeria and Africa can end malaria like several other countries around the world and has passed a bill seeking to establish the National Agency for Malaria Elimination.
The bill scaled the third reading on Wednesday, June 3, after lawmakers considered and adopted the report of the Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary).
The senator representing Delta North, Ned Nwoko, sponsored the bill titled ‘A Bill for an Act to Establish the National Agency for Malaria Elimination and for Related Matters, 2025 (SB.172).’
While presenting the committee’s report, the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary), Ipalibo Banigo, said the proposed agency would coordinate national efforts aimed at the prevention, control, and eventual elimination of malaria in the country.
Banigo said stakeholder consultations on the bill attracted broad support from health experts, government agencies, civil society organisations (CSOs), and development partners.
She listed participants in the consultations to include representatives of the Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry of Justice, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU), Environmental Health Council of Nigeria, and the Nigeria End Malaria Council.
According to the report, the committee said the agency would help shift Nigeria’s response to malaria from treatment to prevention and elimination.
It added that the agency would establish zonal and state offices and implement a strategic plan backed by law, science, and accountability.
The report indicated that stakeholders noted the need for a specialised institution dedicated to malaria elimination rather than the management of recurring outbreaks.
The committee also said the proposed agency would serve as the central coordinating body for malaria prevention, control, and elimination efforts nationwide.
Speaking after the passage of the bill, Nwoko described the development as a major step in Nigeria’s fight against malaria.
The lawmaker said malaria elimination is achievable, noting that it required coordination and political will to end the scourge just as has been accomplished in several countries.
He said, “Malaria has been eliminated in several countries around the world. It is achievable. Nigeria can end malaria, and Africa can end malaria. What is needed is focus, coordination, and political will.”
Nwoko said the proposed agency would provide the institutional framework needed to drive prevention, environmental management, research, surveillance, public awareness campaigns, and elimination strategies across the country.
He said the bill was the result of years of advocacy and commitment to the eradication of malaria in Africa.
The lawmaker recalled undertaking an expedition to Antarctica as part of efforts to draw global attention to the burden of malaria and push for stronger institutional responses.
According to him, malaria continues to claim thousands of lives across Africa despite being preventable and treatable.
“Many people have come to accept malaria as a normal part of life. It should not be. We must move beyond treatment to elimination,” he stated.
Nwoko said Nigeria could replicate the success recorded by other countries through improved environmental sanitation, waste management, fumigation, research, and innovation.
“There is no amount of money spent to save lives that is too much. Families are still losing loved ones to malaria every day. We cannot continue to treat this as normal,” he said.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio described the legislation as a landmark intervention in the fight against malaria.
Following its passage by the Senate, the bill will proceed to the House of Representatives for concurrence before being transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
