Malaria Costs Nigeria About $1B Annually, Health Minister Says
Malaria costs Nigeria about 132 billion naira, or about $1 billion, annually in treatment and prevention costs, as well as in lost-worker productivity, Minister of Health Adenike Grange said at a recent workshop in Abuja, Nigeria, This Day reports. Grange said 60% of outpatient visits to health facilities are malaria-related. In addition, 30% of childhood deaths, 25% of deaths among infants younger than age one and 11% of deaths among pregnant women are a result of the disease -- meaning that malaria kills more people than HIV/AIDS in the country -- according to Grange.
Grange said the Ministry of Health plans to use all available resources to minimize the number of malaria deaths among pregnant women and infants in the country. An average Nigerian child contracts malaria at least four times annually, and 70% of pregnant women contract the disease and experience related complications -- including anemia, low birthweight and still-born infants-- according to Grange. She said it is vital that Nigeria improve its health infrastructure even though resources are limited. The Medium Term Sector Strategy -- which is based on the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy and the Millennium Development Goals -- is a key part of this process, she said. MTSS is designed to strengthen budget preparation and fiscal control in the health sector (Nzeshi, This Day, 7/31).
