The Nigerian Senate has taken a bold step toward ending the country’s decades-long malaria crisis with the second reading of a bill proposing the establishment of the National Agency for Malaria Eradication (NAME).
The bill, titled A Bill for an Act to Establish the National Agency for Malaria Eradication and for Related Matters, 2025 (SB. 172), was sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko (APC, Delta North), who called malaria Nigeria’s “silent emergency.”
During Thursday’s plenary, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Health by Deputy Senate President Senator Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North) for further legislative work. The committee is expected to report back within four weeks.
In his presentation, Senator Nwoko underscored the devastating toll of malaria on Nigeria’s health and economy. “Malaria is not merely a health issue,” he said. “It is a structural crisis that undermines maternal health, reduces productivity, and stalls national development.”
Referencing the World Health Organization’s 2024 report, Nwoko noted that Nigeria recorded more than 184,000 of the 600,000 global malaria deaths last year—by far the highest of any country.
He warned that malaria accounts for 11% of maternal deaths in Nigeria and remains a major cause of anaemia, stillbirths, and infant mortality. The disease’s economic impact is equally severe, costing the nation millions of work hours annually and hampering productivity.
Nwoko criticized the current malaria response, which he described as fragmented and under-resourced. He argued that agencies like the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) and the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) lack the reach and autonomy to drive a focused national strategy.
“If malaria were endemic in Europe or North America, it would have been eliminated decades ago,” Nwoko stated. “Nigeria deserves no less urgency.”
The proposed National Agency for Malaria Eradication would serve as a centralized, autonomous institution with the authority to:
Develop and execute a national malaria eradication plan
Coordinate inter-agency and multi-sectoral efforts
Mobilize domestic and international funding
Support vaccine development and scientific research targeting malaria parasites and vectors
“This agency must be science-driven, singularly focused, and empowered by law to eliminate malaria,” Nwoko urged. “We must show the political will to back this historic shift.”
The bill received strong bipartisan support. Senators Victor Umeh (LP, Anambra Central), Ede Dafinone (APC, Delta Central), Babangida Oseni (APC, Jigawa North West), and Onyewuchi Francis (LP, Imo East) were among those who spoke in favor, calling the initiative timely and essential.
If passed into law, the bill would establish a landmark institution with the singular mission of removing Nigeria from its current position as the global epicenter of malaria deaths—a move many lawmakers and health experts say is long overdue.
