● Nwoko: Agency will shift focus to prevention, fumigation, vaccine research; Akpabio calls it “landmark step”
The Senate has passed for third reading a bill seeking to establish the National Agency for Malaria Elimination, aimed at coordinating efforts to prevent, control, and eventually eradicate malaria in Nigeria.
The bill, sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko, Delta North, was passed Wednesday following consideration and adoption of a report by the Senate Committee on Health, Secondary and Tertiary, chaired by Senator Ipalibo Harry Banigo, Rivers West.
*Shift from treatment to prevention*
According to the committee, the proposed agency will coordinate national malaria elimination programmes and move Nigeria’s response from treatment-focused interventions to prevention and eradication strategies.
The agency is also expected to establish zonal and state offices to drive implementation through a framework anchored on law, science and accountability.
*“Malaria elimination is practical and achievable”*
Senate President Godswill Akpabio described the legislation as a landmark step in the fight against malaria, noting the disease remains one of Nigeria’s most common health challenges.
Speaking with Senate correspondents after passage, Nwoko expressed confidence that malaria elimination in Nigeria is practical and achievable. He said the agency would deploy strategies such as effective waste management, environmental fumigation and vaccine research to combat the disease.
The Delta North senator added that its establishment could position Nigeria as the first malaria-free country in Africa.
