The Health Commissioner of the State of Oyo, Dr. Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, highlighted the alarming rate of deaths related to malaria in Africa, stating that a child dies every two minutes due to the disease. Dr. Ajetunmobi emphasized the urgent need for continuous efforts to combat malaria, which remains an important threat to public health in Nigeria.
Dr. Ajetunmbi, who spoke in the commemoration of World Malaria Day in 2025 in the Akinyele local government area, said Nigeria entails the largest global malaria load, with 27% of cases of global malaria and 31% of global malaria deaths. Of course, 39% of these deaths occur in children under five years.
According to her, malaria remains a relentless adversary in Nigeria, claiming innumerable lives and undermining the well -being of our communities, raising a severe threat to public health, especially in areas where resources are scarce and access to care.
The health commissioner added that children under five and pregnant women have their greatest burden, since malaria not only steals individuals in their health and opportunities, but also stops socio -economic progress and decreases the quality of life among entire communities.
She said that there are reasons for optimism because there is an encouraging decrease in malaria cases and deaths due to the government's collaboration efforts in association with private organizations, health workers, development partners and different agencies.
Although progress is encouraging, she said that it is still fragile, and the path to malaria zero is covered with challenges, so there should be a reinvato to reinvest in central interventions: networks, spray, larvary control and quality health service; reinvent new tools and strategies and translate commitments into action.
The executive president of the local government of Akinyele, the honorable Akinwole Ayobami, represented by Mrs. OLARONKE IGE, said it was necessary for people, particularly pregnant women, to use mosquito networks treated with insecticides and visit the nearest health center to receive treatment when they feel uninhamed.
He said that LGA takes serious health problems to ensure that people in the bases are solid in terms of health and are encouraged to take the problem of their health seriously.
The representative of the World Health Organization, Dr. Phillips Zonto said that malaria remains a challenge in many communities, even in urban centers and, therefore, it is necessary to expand access to proven measures that save life and increase domestic financing for malaria interventions that should be integrated into other health interventions.
According to Dr. Zonto, there was also the need for innovations to address the challenges in the control of malaria in Nigeria, particularly with the Stephani mosquito, which is one of the vectors that is increasingly invading communities and causing damage.
The manager of the State Program of the Malaria Consortium, Dr. Taiwo Olarinde, said that much more than before the need to find innovations, in the face of the decrease in resources, to maintain progress in the control of malaria, not only in our state but in Nigeria in general.
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