{"id":233525,"date":"2025-08-01T12:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T12:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/why-nigeria-must-declare-a-state-of-emergency-on-malaria-hon-amobi-ogah-reveals-at-national-retreat\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T12:01:00","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T12:01:00","slug":"why-nigeria-must-declare-a-state-of-emergency-on-malaria-hon-amobi-ogah-reveals-at-national-retreat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/why-nigeria-must-declare-a-state-of-emergency-on-malaria-hon-amobi-ogah-reveals-at-national-retreat\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Nigeria Must Declare a State of Emergency on Malaria \u2013 Hon. Amobi Ogah Reveals at National Retreat"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Why Nigeria Must Declare a State of Emergency on Malaria \u2013 Hon. Amobi Ogah Reveals at National Retreat<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<h4 data-start=\"5214\" data-end=\"5389\"><em>Hon. Amobi Ogah has warned that Nigeria is off track in malaria elimination efforts, calling for urgent domestic funding, collaboration, and a state of emergency on malaria.<\/em><\/h4>\n<figure id=\"attachment_193068\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-193068\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-193068 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-2.jpeg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"Why Nigeria Must Declare a State of Emergency on Malaria \u2013 Hon. Amobi Ogah Reveals at National Retreat\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-2.jpeg?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-2.jpeg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-2.jpeg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-2.jpeg?resize=330%2C220&amp;ssl=1 330w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-2.jpeg?resize=420%2C280&amp;ssl=1 420w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-2.jpeg?resize=615%2C410&amp;ssl=1 615w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-2.jpeg?resize=860%2C574&amp;ssl=1 860w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-2.jpeg?resize=150%2C100&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-193068\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Why Nigeria Must Declare a State of Emergency on Malaria \u2013 Hon. Amobi Ogah Reveals at National Retreat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"kvezio kvezio-clearfix kvezio-post-inline kvezio-float-center kvezio-align-center kvezio-column-1\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How Governor Alex Otti Is Transforming Abia\u2019s Economy \u2013 Chief Nwaobilor Speaks Out\" width=\"740\" height=\"416\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/QnEsD0LfBHI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em><strong>\u2026. House Committee Chair laments donor dependence, fake drugs, and stalled malaria targets; urges urgent domestic funding and collaboration to meet 2030 elimination goal<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>By All Facts Newspaper \u2013 Ikot Ekpene | 1<sup>st<\/sup> August 2025<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Inauguration Of All Women For Good Leadership Initiative, Abia State\" width=\"740\" height=\"416\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XUnM5bupd2U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Rt. Hon. Amobi Godwin Ogah, FCE, Chairman of the House Committee on HIV\/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Leprosy and Malaria Control, has called for urgent national action and renewed political commitment to combat <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Malaria\">malaria<\/a>, warning that Nigeria\u2019s current approach risks falling short of the 2030 malaria elimination target.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Speaking during his welcome address at the NASS\/NMEP National Malaria Retreat, held at Four Points by Sheraton Hotel, Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, from July 31 to August 1, 2025, Hon. Ogah emphasized that malaria remains Nigeria\u2019s deadliest public <a href=\"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Health <\/a>challenge and continues to cripple economic productivity.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Nigeria Accounts for 31% of Global Malaria Deaths<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Citing the 2023 World Malaria Report, Ogah revealed alarming statistics:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>249 million malaria cases and 608,000 deaths globally in 2022<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Nigeria accounted for 27% of global cases and 31% of all deaths<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Malaria remains the leading cause of hospital attendance in the country<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Responsible for 25-30% of under-five mortality and 10% of maternal deaths<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Despite over $10 billion spent on interventions since 2000, Nigeria has stalled on the World <a href=\"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Health <\/a>Organization\u2019s Global Technical Strategy (GTS) 2016-2030.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have severally called for a state of emergency on malaria because the disease is endemic, devastating, and crippling our economy. Without decisive action, the 2030 elimination goal will remain a dream,\u201d Ogah warned.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ogah did not shy away from criticizing the National Malaria Program and stakeholders, accusing them of failing Nigerians by allowing:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"kvezio kvezio-clearfix kvezio-post-middle kvezio-float-center kvezio-align-center kvezio-column-1\">\n<div id=\"kvezio-178990-136395304\" class=\"kvezio-container kvezio-type-image \" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/WPAdBlock\" data-adid=\"178990\" data-type=\"image\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" itemprop=\"url\" class=\"kvezio-link\" href=\"https:\/\/afnews.sumofunnel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Specil-Edition-of-Gov.-Alex-Otti-One-Year-In-Office-2024.pdf\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\"kvezio-image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.sumofunnel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cover-1-scaled.jpg?w=1170&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"news paper\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Over-reliance on foreign donors and grants<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Zero budgetary allocation for TB and Malaria in 2024<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Proliferation of fake and substandard antimalarial drugs<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Failure to collaborate on vital baseline studies<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He disclosed that the committee had queried the TB and malaria program managers and confronted the coordinating minister for Health, insisting that \u201cnobody can love Nigeria more than Nigerians\u201d and that the status quo of donor dependency is unacceptable.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWe must reduce our over-reliance on foreign grants and mobilize domestic resources. Nigeria must fund its own public <a href=\"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Health <\/a>priorities if we are serious about saving lives,\u201d Ogah stated.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Call for Collaboration and Legislative Backing<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Hon. Ogah reaffirmed the House Committee\u2019s commitment to providing legislative mechanisms and interventions to support malaria elimination efforts.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He appealed to National Malaria Elimination Program (NMEP), Roll Back Malaria Partnership, Malaria Consortium, and other key stakeholders to present their plans and programs to Parliament for mutual collaboration.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are eager to change the narrative and make Nigerians reap the benefits of universal <a href=\"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Health <\/a>care. With better synergy and political commitment, we can reignite malaria elimination efforts and meet the 2030 goal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Declaring the National Malaria Retreat open, Ogah expressed optimism that the new leadership at NMEP will foster robust engagement with Parliament to galvanize a unified national response.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The retreat, which brought together lawmakers, <a href=\"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Health <\/a>experts, donor agencies, and implementing partners, is expected to chart actionable strategies to address:<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Funding gaps in malaria response<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Counterfeit drugs and regulatory failures<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Weak surveillance and community <a href=\"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Health <\/a>engagement<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Accelerated domestic resource mobilization<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As Nigeria faces a public <a href=\"https:\/\/abianewscentral.com.ng\/health\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Health <\/a>crisis, Ogah\u2019s message is clear: political will, domestic investment, and collaboration are the only paths to eliminating malaria and saving millions of lives.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-193067 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-3.jpeg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-3.jpeg?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-3.jpeg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-3.jpeg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-3.jpeg?resize=330%2C220&amp;ssl=1 330w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-3.jpeg?resize=420%2C280&amp;ssl=1 420w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-3.jpeg?resize=615%2C410&amp;ssl=1 615w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-3.jpeg?resize=860%2C574&amp;ssl=1 860w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-3.jpeg?resize=150%2C100&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-193066 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-4.jpeg?resize=1024%2C704&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"704\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-4.jpeg?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-4.jpeg?resize=300%2C206&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-4.jpeg?resize=768%2C528&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-4.jpeg?resize=860%2C591&amp;ssl=1 860w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-4.jpeg?resize=150%2C103&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-193065 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-5.jpeg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-5.jpeg?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-5.jpeg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-5.jpeg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-5.jpeg?resize=330%2C220&amp;ssl=1 330w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-5.jpeg?resize=420%2C280&amp;ssl=1 420w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-5.jpeg?resize=615%2C410&amp;ssl=1 615w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-5.jpeg?resize=860%2C574&amp;ssl=1 860w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/Amobi-and-Malaria-5.jpeg?resize=150%2C100&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-193064 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/amobi-photos.jpeg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/amobi-photos.jpeg?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/amobi-photos.jpeg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/amobi-photos.jpeg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/amobi-photos.jpeg?resize=330%2C220&amp;ssl=1 330w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/amobi-photos.jpeg?resize=420%2C280&amp;ssl=1 420w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/amobi-photos.jpeg?resize=615%2C410&amp;ssl=1 615w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/amobi-photos.jpeg?resize=860%2C574&amp;ssl=1 860w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.ng\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/amobi-photos.jpeg?resize=150%2C100&amp;ssl=1 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/afnews.ng\/why-nigeria-must-declare-a-state-of-emergency-on-malaria\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why Nigeria Must Declare a State of Emergency on Malaria \u2013 Hon. Amobi Ogah Reveals at National Retreat Hon. Amobi Ogah has warned that Nigeria is off track in malaria elimination efforts, calling for urgent domestic funding, collaboration, and a state of emergency on malaria. Why Nigeria Must Declare a State of Emergency on Malaria [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":233526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[183],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-233525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233525\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}