Expert Seeks Stronger Mosquito Control As Malaria Kills 200,000 Nigerians Annually

A pest control expert, Mr Bamidele Abiru, has called for intensified efforts to control mosquito breeding and prevent malaria, which he said claims between 180,000 and 200,000 lives annually in Nigeria.

Abiru made the call during a medical outreach at Gosa Community in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to commemorate World Mosquito Day.

The outreach, organised under the auspices of Greenbox Facilities Limited, focused on educating residents on effective mosquito control and measures to prevent malaria.

Abiru said between 600,000 and 700,000 people die from malaria annually in sub-Saharan Africa, with Nigeria accounting for between 180,000 and 200,000 of the deaths.

“Most people do not know that mosquitoes are among the deadliest killers of humans. Between 600,000 and 700,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa die from malaria every year,” he said.

He noted that Nigeria bears one of the world’s heaviest malaria burdens, accounting for approximately 27 per cent of global malaria cases and more than 30 per cent of malaria deaths worldwide.

Abiru urged residents of Gosa and other communities to maintain clean and hygienic surroundings to reduce mosquito breeding and the spread of malaria.

“To prevent the breeding and spread of mosquitoes and, by extension, malaria in our various neighbourhoods, we must eliminate stagnant water, clear overgrown vegetation and maintain clean surroundings,” he said.

Also speaking, the Coordinator of the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), Dr Nnenna Ogbulafor, urged Nigerians to keep their environments clean and free from mosquito breeding sites.

Ogbulafor, who was represented by Mr Henry Odume, Assistant Chief Scientific Officer in the Integrated Vector Management Unit, said malaria prevalence in the FCT had declined from 18.8 per cent in 2021 to 7.9 per cent in 2025.

She, however, stressed the need for sustained environmental management and other preventive measures to further reduce malaria transmission in the country.