WHO Raises The Alarm Over Burden Of Child Killer Diseases In Africa

The World Health Organisation (WHO) country Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Walter Molumbo, has called on the government at all levels to strengthen the Primary Health care delivery system for effective treatment against child killer diseases, especially Poliomyelitis and Malaria infections.

He said Malaria remains a public Health Burden that can be adequately addressed at the Primary Healthcare level.

The WHO representative made the call while speaking at Badarawa, Kaduna, for the combined 2025 National Immunisation Plus Days, African Vaccination Week, and World Malaria Day.

Represented by Hajiya Basira A. Abdullahi, the WHO representative stated that despite the remarkable progress recorded in Africa in the last two decades by preventing over 2 billion cases of Malaria and saving over 12.7 million lives from dying, the disease remains a huge Public Health issue, especially in the WHO African Region.

Dr. Molumbo emphasised that Nigeria has witnessed the resurgence of Circulating Variant Poliovirus Type 2 (CVPV2) since its polio-free certification in 2020.

He said Kaduna State recorded four cases of CVPV2 in Birnin Gwari, Kubau, Soba, and Ikara LGAs in 2024, thereby making it very important for the government and partners to interrupt the Variant in the whole country and sustain a CVPV2-free status.

The WHO representative noted that though the event was primarily for the polio Vaccination Campaign, it coincided with the period for the African vaccination week and World Malaria Day commemoration, which are equally important Health events.

He acknowledged the efforts of the National and Kaduna State Governments in recording successes and progress in the health sector. Still, he appealed for the continuous conduct of high-quality Polio vaccination campaigns to achieve and sustain a society free of polio virus.

He further stressed that the theme for African Vaccination Week is “Immunisation for all, is humanly possible” as it marks the mid-way point for the Immunisation Agenda 2030 (IA 2030), a global commitment to achieving equitable vaccine access by 2030.

Earlier, Professor Bello Jamo, Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Primary Health Care Board, stressed that the state adopted a comprehensive approach to contain all child killer diseases during the immunisation exercises and called on parents to comply with the efforts of the government and development partners.