Nigeria accounts for 24% of global malaria cases, as FCT records drop to 7.9%

Nigeria continues to bear a significant share of the global malaria burden, accounting for 24.3 percent of reported cases worldwide, even as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) records a decline in prevalence from 18.8 percent to 7.9 percent, it has emerged.

This was revealed in Abuja on Tuesday during activities marking World Malaria Day 2026, organized by Famkris Healthcare Initiative in collaboration with the FCT Health Services and Environment Secretariat to strengthen malaria elimination awareness in the Federal Capital Territory.

According to the Clinical Manager at the Famkris Healthcare Initiative, Aniefiok Akpasa, citing the 2025 World Malaria Report, an estimated 282 million malaria cases were recorded globally in 2024 across 80 endemic countries, with Nigeria contributing the largest share.

“Five countries accounted for almost half of all these cases, Nigeria leads the charge by contributing 24.3%,” Akpasa said.

He said malaria remains a major cause of mortality, with about 610,000 deaths recorded globally in 2024, adding that Nigeria accounts for 30.3 percent of these deaths and 38.6 percent of global malaria deaths among children under five.

Malaria is also responsible for about 30 percent of child deaths and 11 percent of maternal deaths annually in Nigeria, underscoring the scale of the challenge, he noted.

Despite the national burden, he highlighted recent data that showed gradual progress, explaining that national malaria prevalence declined from 22 percent in 2021 to 15.3 percent in 2025, while the FCT recorded a sharper drop from 18.8 percent to 7.9 percent over the same period.

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Akpasa said the global theme for this year, Driven to End Malaria: Now We Can, Now We Must, reflects both the availability of tools and the urgency to act, warning that resistance to existing treatments and funding gaps could reverse progress.

He outlined key interventions under the ongoing malaria elimination project in the FCT and Kogi State, including training 276 healthcare workers in diagnosis and treatment, and 48 clinicians in severe malaria management.

The expert also revealed that more than 300 public health facilities have also been supported with national treatment guidelines and job aids, alongside the deployment of a central incinerator to improve healthcare waste management.

Akpasa also added that, to improve access to services, 340 stakeholders were trained in logistics management, while multiple rounds of distribution ensured that malaria commodities reached health facilities.

On data systems, he said over 300 facilities have been equipped with National Health Management Information System tools, supported by routine validation and supervisory visits.

“Anywhere on earth, if whatever decisions you are taking are not data-driven, you have not started,” Akpasa said.

Community-level interventions have also expanded, with radio campaigns reaching over 28,000 people and 72 community mobilizers trained to drive awareness, he added.

The programme, according to him, has introduced grievance redress mechanisms, allowing patients to report issues such as illegal charges for malaria services meant to be free.

Early outcomes, he noted, include increased acceptance of malaria diagnostic tests and referrals of pregnant women for preventive treatment.

He said vulnerable groups, particularly children under five and pregnant women, remain the focus of interventions, including free testing and preventive medication.

In her remarks, the FCT Malaria Elimination Programme Manager, Hajia Zainab Ibrahim, said the improvement reflects sustained interventions but warned that the gains remain fragile.

“For FCT, we don’t want a situation whereby our people die of malaria. We don’t want a situation where our children, our pregnant women, die of malaria,” she said.

According to Ibrahim, the current level places the FCT close to the pre-elimination threshold of five percent, but stressed that sustained efforts are required to reach that stage.

"Our main goal is total eradication of malaria in the FCT, and that is why we are unrelenting in strengthening our partnerships, having seen how impactful they've been," she stressed.

Beyond medical interventions, she emphasized the media's role in sustaining progress, noting that public awareness remains a critical gap, particularly in rural and underserved communities where access to health facilities is limited.

“We cannot do without the media. Passing information through the media enables us to reach a quite huge number of people,” she said.

She explained that radio and television remain vital channels for disseminating information on prevention, testing, and treatment, especially for populations outside urban centres.

"Consistent media engagement can help correct misconceptions, discourage self-medication, and promote early diagnosis, all of which are key to reducing transmission," the Project Manager noted.

On sustainability, the Project Director of Famkris Healthcare Initiative, Dr. Grace Nwankwo, said efforts are aligned with existing government systems.

“Our work is supporting the government, so that at the end of the project, whatever degrees we have achieved will be sustained,” she said.

She added that the project prioritizes skill transfer and system strengthening rather than creating parallel structures.

Nwankwo said the FCT’s progress has shown that malaria elimination is achievable, but cautioned that continued investment in prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and data management is essential to meet the 2030 target.