THUR, APRIL 25 2019-theG&BJournal-The latest NOIPolls survey published Wednesday revealed Malaria is still the most prevalent health challenge facing Nigerians by a significant proportion of 81 percent.
The findings also showed that as many as 69 percent of the population had been diagnosed with malaria at least once (or more) in the past 12 months; with 63 percent accessing malaria tablets, 30 percent taking injections, and 6 percent making use of native medicine to treat the ailment.
‘’The preponderance of malaria warrants further probing,’’ NOIPolls noted.
Malaria is the leading cause of death in Nigeria with over 300,000 deaths per year which is more than other deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Over the past 12 months, only 31 percent of respondents surveyed reported being free from malaria diagnosis; 48 percent reported one or two episodes, while 16 percent reported three or more episodes.
Compared to male respondents, female respondents reported higher rates of malaria diagnosis during the period based on lower percentages reporting no episode (female – 28 percent; male – 34 percent) and higher percentage reporting one or two episodes (female – 52 percent; male – 45 percent).
Malaria diagnosis also decreases by age, with malaria-free proportion rising from 29 percent (age 18-35) to 32 percent (age 36-60) and 34 percent (above 60), and the proportion that experienced one or two episodes decreased from 49 percent (age 18-35), 48 percent (age 36-60) to 40 percent (above 60 years). However, the percentage experiencing three or more episodes decreased from 16 percent (age 18-35) to 14 percent (age 36-60) but increased significantly to 21 percent (above 60 years).
Across geopolitical zones, malaria diagnosis rates are lower in the North as the percentage diagnosis-free is higher in the North (31 percent) compared to the South (28 percent). However, the percentage with one or two diagnoses is slightly higher in the North (50 percent versus 49 percent) and the percentage with three or more diagnosis is also slightly higher (16 percent versus 15 percent). The reporting of malaria diagnosis is also slightly higher in rural areas (66 percent) compared to urban areas (63 percent).
On average, 93 percent of malaria episodes are treated with modern medicine (63 percent with tablets and 30 percent with injections). Of the remainder, 6 percent are treated with native treatment while the remaining 1 percent cases are untreated. There is no significant difference by gender in the propensity to use modern medicine (male – 92 percent; female – 93 percent), neither are there significant differences by age (age 18-35 – 93 percent; age 36-60 – 92 percent; above 60 – 92 percent).
There are slight variations across geopolitical zones in the use of modern medicine for treating malaria. While tablets are more likely used to treat malaria in the South (South – 72 percent; North – 58 percent), injections are preferred in the North (South –20 percent; North – 35 percent). The substitutionary relationship is also observed in urban and rural areas; while tablets are more likely used to treat malaria in urban areas (urban – 66 percent; Rural – 57 percent), injections are preferred in the rural areas (Urban –28 percent; Rural – 33 percent).
The survey revealed an urgent need for interventions in the Nigerian health system to reduce the incidence of malaria as the burden of malaria remains quite high in the population.
This raises concerns regarding the effectiveness of malaria interventions and suggests need for more to be done in its prevention; as it is being advocated by the WHO considering the commemoration of World Malaria Day today the 25th of April, 2019.
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