Senate has passed a bill seeking to establish the National Agency for Malaria Elimination.
The legislation scaled third reading after lawmakers considered and adopted the report of the Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary).
This is as the sponsor of the bill , Senator Ned Nwoko ( Delta North ) , assured Nigerians that intendment of the bill is achievable and will make Nigeria the first country in Africa to be malaria free .
The Committee in the report explained to the Senate that the proposed agency when established, will be responsible for coordinating all national efforts towards the prevention , control and eventual elimination of malaria .
The Committee added in the report that for nationwide operation of the proposed agency , zonal and state offices shall be established and to be driven by strategic plan backed by law, science and accountability.
According to the report, the Committee said the agency would help shift Nigeria’s response to malaria from treatment to prevention and elimination.
It added that the agency would establish zonal and state offices and implement a strategic plan backed by law, science, and accountability.
In his remarks after the passage of the bill for third reading, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio described the legislation as a landmark in the war against Malaria being the rampant ailment in this part of the world .
Addressing journalists after passage of the bill, Senator Nwoko said “elimination of Malaria in Nigeria, is practicable and achievable.
Nwoko said the proposed agency would provide the institutional framework needed to drive prevention, environmental management, research, surveillance, public awareness campaigns, and elimination strategies across the country.
He said the bill was the culmination of years of advocacy and commitment to the eradication of malaria in Africa.
The Senator recalled undertaking an expedition to Antarctica as part of efforts to draw global attention to the burden of malaria and push for stronger institutional responses.
According to him, malaria continues to claim thousands of lives across Africa despite being preventable and treatable.
Following its passage by the Senate, the bill will proceed to the House of Representatives for concurrence before being transmitted to President Bola Tinubu for assent.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
