The Senate has passed a bill seeking to establish the National Agency for Malaria Elimination, a move lawmakers say will strengthen Nigeria’s fight against malaria and improve coordination of intervention efforts nationwide.
The bill scaled third reading on Wednesday after the Senate considered and adopted the report of its Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary).
The proposed legislation seeks to create a specialised agency charged with coordinating policies and programmes aimed at malaria prevention, treatment, control and eventual elimination across the country.
Lawmakers noted that despite years of interventions by government and development partners, malaria remains a major public health challenge in Nigeria, contributing significantly to illness, deaths and economic losses.
According to the committee’s report, the agency is expected to provide a more focused and institutionalised approach to tackling malaria by harmonising existing efforts, improving resource mobilisation and supporting research and public awareness campaigns.
Supporters of the bill argued that the establishment of a dedicated agency would strengthen accountability and ensure sustained attention to malaria elimination efforts.
