Nigeria: Country Loses N134m to Malaria

11 May 2023
AllAfrica.com Nigeria loses over N134 million on treatment of malaria and absenteeism from workers suffering malaria.  

Speaking yesterday in Lagos during the launch of a new malaria drug known as Artequin Tm Paediatric, a consultant paediatrician of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Prof. Olayinka Ogundipe pointed out that malaria today remains the greatest ailment in Sub-Sahara Africa killing over 300 million people annually, and over 500,000 persons in Nigeria.  

His words, "Deaths arising from malaria ailment complications such as cerebral malaria kills mostly children and pregnant women due to their low immunity level. Malaria remains a major health problem in Nigeria and the socio-economic implications of malaria cannot be overemphasized" .  

He further said that, many children in the country suffer from three to six episodes of malaria attacks every year, noting that most hospital attendance of children was due solely to malaria.   His words, "malaria is one of the four most common ailments in children, others are pneumonia, diarrhoea and measles".  

The consultant commended Oculus Pharmacare Limited, makers of the new malaria drug, Artequin Tm, developed specifically to cure malaria in children from age one to six years.  

Also speaking on the occasion, the Managing Director of Oculus Phamacare, Mr. Clifford Nzimako said that the new drug which was marketed by Mepha Pharmaceuticals of Switerland, but marketed in Nigeria by Oculus "is specially formulated with active ingredients of Artemisinin Combination Therapy to cure malaria in children.  

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