The Senate has passed a bill for second reading to establish the National Agency for Malaria Eradication (NAME), a landmark initiative to tackle Nigeria’s overwhelming malaria burden.
Senator Ned Nwoko (APC, Delta North) sponsored the bill, A Bill for an Act to Establish the National Agency for Malaria Eradication and Related Matters, 2025 (SB. 172), which was presented during Thursday’s plenary session.
According to the World Health Organisation’s 2024 report, Nigeria accounts for over 184,000 of the 600,000 global malaria deaths annually—the highest in the world.
Senator Nwoko described this toll as a national emergency requiring immediate and coordinated legislative action.
“Malaria is not merely a public health issue; it is a structural crisis that impairs maternal health, drains economic productivity, and impedes national development,” he said.
He noted that the disease is responsible for approximately 11% of maternal deaths in Nigeria and contributes to miscarriages, infant deaths, stillbirths, and severe anaemia.
Beyond the health impact, Nwoko emphasised the economic toll, including the loss of millions of man-hours, reduced business productivity, and a growing burden on healthcare infrastructure.
The bill proposes a centralised and autonomous agency to coordinate national malaria eradication efforts.
The agency would be mandated to “Formulate and implement national policies on malaria eradication.”
“Coordinate inter-agency and sectoral responses with legal authority.
“Mobilise and manage resources efficiently and transparently.
“Support vaccine research and genetic innovations targeting malaria.”
Senator Nwoko criticised Nigeria’s current structure of malaria control as fragmented and ineffective, stating that the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP) lacks operational capacity and that the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) has limited reach.
“A fragmented structure cannot confront a mutating threat. We need a unified, science-driven, and legislatively backed institution with the singular mandate to end malaria in Nigeria,” he declared.
Citing the global urgency and funding mobilised during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nwoko questioned the international inaction on malaria. “If malaria were endemic to Europe or North America, we would not still grapple with it a century later,” he said.
The bill received broad bipartisan support from lawmakers, including Senator Victor Umeh (LP, Anambra Central), Senator Ede Dafinone (APC, Delta Central), Senator Babangida Oseni (APC, Jigawa North West), and Senator Onyewuchi Francis (LP, Imo East), who all endorsed the proposed agency as a bold and overdue step toward malaria elimination.
Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin (APC, Kano North) referred the bill to the Senate Committee on Health for further legislative scrutiny. The committee is expected to report back in four weeks.
