POSITION PAPER TO NATIONAL POLITICAL REFORM CONFERENCE, ABUJA 2005.

MALARIA: WE MUST NOT SIGN AWAY THE FUTURE.

The Executive Secretary

National Political Reform Conference

Abuja, Nigeria.

Dear Sir,

The African Regional Youth Initiative is a collaboration of hundreds of youth and community-based projects and organisations in Africa, working to fight HIV/AIDS. ARYI addresses HIV/AIDS in a comprehensive manner by engaging in activities that mobilize and empower communities, increase participation of women, youths; facilitate dialogue between organisation in different countries and other activities that build capacity such as training in policy and advocacy. As such, ARYI works with individuals and partner organisations that focus on poverty, leadership and governance, youth employment, women’s rights, illness and diseases like malaria and tuberculosis, education, information technology and reproductive health.

Delegates to this conference have been raising concrete issues on agriculture, resource control, gender sensitivity, and federalism and so on. I will like to perch my concern on the issue of rolling back malaria and meeting the 2005 deadline. Representing ARYI Nigeria and articulating the youths’ and other ROLL BACK MALARIA VOLUNTEERS’ position on the matter of reforming our political setting, I hereby draw this position paper to be debated upon and be in the final report of the conference.

Malaria is the most significant of the tropical diseases; it is a major public health problem in Africa. The disease exists in hundreds of nations of the world, but more than 90% of malaria case and the greater majority of malaria death, occur in Africa.

Malaria is a significant impediment to human and economic development. Each year around 350 million episodes of acute malaria illness reported worldwide, with over 1 million deaths. Most of the casualties are pregnant women and children under the age of 5 years. Its epidemiological and socio-economic burden is now heightened because of malaria deadly alliance with HIV/AIDS and poverty.

In Nigeria, malaria is one of the four leading causes of deaths and causes of economical disruptions. There is no way we can discuss political reform without touching the economical aspect of it and when economy is disrupted, , politics also which is the way and manner a particular setting is governed, must be disrupted. Over 50% of Nigeria’s 120 million experience at least one episode of the disease in a year. Malaria thus contributes to the vicious spiral of poverty, unemployment and waste of human capital in Nigeria.

The Federal Government demonstrated her political commitment to the ROLL BACK MALARIA (RBM) INITIATIVE, (an initiative jointly founded by WHO, UNICEF, WORLD BANK and UNDP aiming to halve the malaria burden globally by the year 2010 through a multi-sector and multi-sector approach) by hosting the African Summit on Roll Back Malaria in April 2000, this resulted in the signing of the Abuja Declaration and Plan of Action by the Presidents and Head of Governments in Africa. They resolved to initiate sustainable actions to strengthen their health care system to ensure that by year 2005:

1. At least 60% of those suffering from malaria have prompt access to and are able to use correct and affordable treatment within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms;
2. At least 60% of those at risk of malaria particularly pregnant women and children under 5 years of age, benefit from the use of Insecticide Treated mosquito Nets (ITN) and other suitable materials; and
3. At least 60% of women in their first pregnancies have access to recommended preventive measures.

So, driven by the imperative of the declaration on rolling back malaria by the African Presidents, and the far reaching decision and targeting, this position paper is therefore a lift in the platform of malaria eradication to show what needed to be done to combat malaria, increase strategies for community-base promotion, enhance awareness of problems facing access to ICT as an preventive measure against malaria, and show the participation of poverty and other social ills in its prevalence in Nigeria. So, for Nigeria to have independent, consistent, uninfluenced and accurate weaponry to roll back malaria in terms of quantitative statistical parameters.

I made visit to about 23 villages in Nigeria after attending the first National Malaria Summit in Lagos, to take practical field survey and personal experience of how the ways of lives of people at the foot of grassroots, their environment, governance, health system and others can hinder rolling back malaria in Nigeria.

I visited Kaura Namoda, Zurmi, Moriki, Iri, Anka, Shagari, Illela, Mokwa, Eesade, Obe Rewoye, Ugbo, Mahin, Mbiama, Ogunu, Atoyo, Oleh, Oyede, Bethel and Tegina and the question that kept attending my mind was:

Can these Nigerians, if suffering from malaria have access to safe and effective treatment within 24 hours of onset of symptom in 2005, having these kinds of roads, dilapidated school and public health centres buildings, and at the way they live their lives?

Will these Nigerians in areas not viable economically at risk of malaria and other concomitants sleep under ITN at affordable cost?

Can somebody living in Obe Rewoye in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo state have access to ITN at normal price when the cost of crossing the waterway is #800?

Will women in Oyede, Zurmi, Moriki, and other villages in the most interior part of Nigeria in their first pregnancies have access to recommended preventive treatment in2005 when they understand not what ITN means?

Can children under 5 years in these villages with rotten environment be sheltered away from mosquitoes when the nets are not available under 3 days?

How will people in these areas ever know that there is unprecedented growing resistance of plasmodium falciparum to conventional monotherapies like chloroquine, sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and amodiaquine?

I can assure Nigerians that with these enemies in place, rolling back malaria will just be a mere say as it continues to kill and weaken our economy with a significant effect on the future governance.

RECOMMENDATIONS.

Therefore on behalf of ARYI, I tender these recommendations, as an investment towards solving a problem that is responsible for 30% mortality rate for children under the age of 5 years, to this conference to note and make meaningful debate on the informed as part of the templates for Nigeria towards her final barring of malaria.

1. That government should increase the road networks in Nigeria, for rural-urban linkage, easier access to information and economic viability.
2. That there should be an increase in the level of village/hamlets participation in rolling malaria back through focus on infrastructure.
3. Increase in community-based promotion of ITN.
4. Enhance strategies that may assist in the achievement of higher level of governance.
5. Increase awareness about manifestation and economic consequences of malaria.
6. That government should make laws negation physical and chemical hazards.
7. The protection of our natural habitat threatened by human activities for reduction in the incidence of malaria related morbidity and mortality in Nigeria.
8. That government should build roll back malaria centres in all the 8000 wards in Nigeria.
9. That government should diversify into agriculture to enhance food production.
10. That government should supply drinkable water to all over 24,000 villages in Nigeria.
11. That government should mandate oil firms to attend to the needs of their host communities.

CONCLUSION.

Economic growth is important for rolling back malaria and absence of malaria enhances economic growth.

The above-mentioned ways are the vital in which economic growth filters through to the poorer sections of the population. To achieve this however, policies and projects must involve the grassroots people. Government should strive to implement things necessary to create the condition for economic growth. Good planning and policies can make infrastructure available to them.

Thank you.

I, for and on behalf of AFRICA REGIONAL YOUTH INITIATIVE.

(Signed)

Akinloye Olusegun Oyeniyi

Conference Representative.