West African health ministers have called for stronger regional collaboration to tackle malaria, citing weak coordination as a major setback.
The call was made on Monday at the 27th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Assembly of Health Ministers in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where malaria was described as the region’s leading cause of death.
Officials said progress has been slowed by fragmented strategies, poor coordination, and inefficient use of resources across member states.
Sierra Leone’s Health Minister, Austin Demby, urged a unified approach covering financing, vector control, vaccination, diagnostics, treatment, and community engagement, stressing that malaria elimination requires collective action beyond the health sector.
The Director-General of WAHO, Melchior Athanase Aïssi, called for increased domestic funding, greater efficiency, and real-time data systems to improve decision-making and accountability.
The meeting is expected to produce resolutions aimed at strengthening coordination and accelerating malaria elimination efforts across the region.
