The National Coordinator, National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), Dr Audu Mohammed, on Tuesday said Nigeria would get three-year grant of $417 million from the Global Fund to tackle malaria.

Mohammed said in Abuja that Nigeria accounted for 25 per cent of Global Malaria burden.

NMEP is responsible for formulating, facilitating policy and guidelines; coordinates partners and stakeholders’ malaria control activities and provides technical support to states’ malaria programmes.

It also provides support for local government areas, stakeholders, mobilise resources, monitor, evaluate progress and outcome of malaria elimination efforts across the country.

According to him, Malaria programme will take 47 per cent out of the N890 million allocation from Global Fund to Nigeria to reduce HIV, TB and Malaria from 2021 to 2023,

Mohammed said that malaria was responsible for 60 per cent of outpatient visits to health facilities, 30 per cent of childhood deaths, 25 per cent of deaths in children under one year and 11 per cent maternal deaths.

He said the grant would complement the Federal Government and other donor partners’ efforts in implementing activities and programmes that would reduce malaria.

“The grant is to procure live-saving commodities such as mosquito nets, medication and rapid test tools among others in 13 states for the poor and hard-to-reach people in those states.

“Ten per cent of the grant will be used for Resilient Sustainable Systems for Health (RSSH) which is an integral part of the grant.

“Nigeria is among  the countries recommended for programme continuation from Global Fund grant, which means that the country is performing well in the precious grant.

“With the new grant, we will continue implementing the National Strategic Plan on Malaria Elimination and will still be focusing on the 13 states that are currently getting support from the fund.

“The states are Adamawa, Delta, Gombe, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kwara, Niger, Ogun, Osun, Taraba and Yobe,“ he said.

Mohammed said that the objective of the grant was to contribute to rapid and sustained scale up of malaria control interventions in the implementing states.

He said the grant would enable the office to upgrade health facilities, facilitate increase access to anti-malaria commodities, strengthen routine surveillance and data for decision making.

The coordinator said the office would also engage private sector involved in Malaria programmes in those communities in the implementing states.(NAN)