NEWS: The Global Fund Announces Massive Funding to End Malaria in Nigeria

27 October 2009
London 27 October 2009: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) has signed an agreement representing its largest single malaria initiative with the Federal Ministry of Health of Nigeria, providing resources for 30 million insecticide treated nets (ITNs).

In order to meet the Roll Back Malaria 2010 targets to eliminate malaria, Nigeria aims to place two ITNs in every household in the country by December 2010. This  requires the purchase and delivery of 62 million ITNs  to homes and families across Nigeria. The new series of Global Fund grants will provide half of this total and amounts to $285 million over two years. Other donors supporting Nigeria’s 62 million ITN target include: the World Bank, DFID, USAID, UNITAID, UNICEF and the Nigerian government.

According to the Global Fund, programmes supported by the malaria grants will provide 56 million quality malaria treatments via administration of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) for the next two years and support the introduction of Malaria Rapid Diagnostic tests. Some 3.4 millions ITNs have already arrived in country in time for the mass distribution campaign planned for December this year.
 
Mass distributions of ITNs have resulted in rapid and dramatic drops in malaria related deaths. Malaria Consortium, the world’s leading not-for-profit organisation dedicated to both the prevention and treatment of malaria, has experience of this already in Nigeria through its management of a £50 million DFID funded project entitled Support to National Malaria Programme (SuNMaP). The project is helping to coordinate and deliver the Nigerian ITN effort; providing six million of the 62 million nets.
 
Nigeria has the highest incidence of malaria in Africa, with an estimated 57 million cases and 225,000 deaths every year – nearly all of them under the age of five. Malaria is responsible for 30% of child-related mortality and 11% of maternal mortality in the country.

For more information please contact Diana Thomas; [email protected]