World Malaria Day: Inside the fight to ensure a malaria-free future for all

Guardian Nigeria

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00:00Hello and welcome to Guardian Talks on Guardian TV. My name is Fadimu Rachel and today we'll be

00:06shedding the spotlight on a prevalent public health concern, malaria. April 25th is set aside

00:14to celebrate the World Malaria Day, a date dedicated to raising global awareness on this

00:21harmful disease that has claimed the lives of millions and thousands of individuals,

00:25particularly young children under the age of five. In a report given by the World Health

00:32Organization, WHO, over 200 million malaria cases were recorded in 2023 and over 597,000 deaths were

00:41reported. In Nigeria alone, 1.4 million malaria cases were said to have taken place in 2023 and of course

00:4926 percent malaria death cases were recorded. However, the tides are changing for good this

00:56time. In October 2024, Nigeria received its first batch of the R21 malaria vaccine. This of course

01:04signifies the giant strides Nigeria is taking as a nation and of course the world system are all

01:10taking to ensure that malaria is eradicated completely from our health sector. Today I'll be speaking with

01:18a medical doctor at Yava College of Technology, Dr. Muyosore Akiyonla, who would be sharing her views with

01:25as well as olehigers on this malaria vaccine.

01:27Then he would refer to one of the recommendations on this malaria vaccine.

01:45Malaria is something that is caused by a bite from mosquitoes and is something that is really

02:01serious in children because they are the vulnerable ones.

02:05So it's a big problem in Nigeria because Nigeria is an endemic country where malaria affects

02:13a lot of people, especially children because it kills faster in children and other vulnerable

02:18people.

02:19So it's actually a big, over 200 million people are affected yearly.

02:23So yes, it's a big problem, especially in children.

02:25For children, if you are talking about day to day, almost every day we treat malaria cases

02:31for adults and children, but it's worse in children because one, children can't talk,

02:35they can't tell you, oh, my head is, I have headaches and all that.

02:39So it can, and then also, you know, malaria has to do with the blood stream, like, it

02:44affects the blood cells, so it can bring down the blood cells faster in children and can

02:52cause anemia and this is how it causes death in them.

02:56So yes, it's a big issue for children.

03:11The vaccine is actually a good idea and innovation by WHO and it's being welcomed in the country,

03:19presently, it's free in the country, and at the community level, yes, there might be some

03:24form of resistance from people, but as in according to, you know, there are some myths, some people

03:29don't really like to accept vaccines easily like that, but it's something that works effectively

03:36and it's safe, especially in children because the current vaccine going on now, that's the

03:41malaria vaccine.

03:42It's something that is rolled out for children now, children under five, and yes, it works.

04:02This centre is a health centre, so just like every other health centres we have in the country,

04:08and we've been sensitised.

04:09It's been sensitised currently, we don't give it here, but we have been sensitised towards

04:14the vaccines, and it's targeted towards children currently.

04:18There's this information we get from WHO, yes, online, so we always get real-time information

04:25concerning the vaccines and every other preventable method.

04:43When it comes to myths, it has to do with cultural beliefs.

04:48So you can't just, when you bring in a vaccine like that, you don't expect everybody to accept

04:53it at once.

04:54So it's a myth for you to say it causes infertility, there's no vaccine currently that causes that,

05:00because it goes through clinical trials before we can give vaccines.

05:05So these things, these vaccines have gone through all the four phases of the clinical trials and

05:10it is safe.

05:11So it is a myth, yes, and we just have to keep sensitising people, advising them, talking

05:16to them, letting them know that this thing is safe, and those that have gotten it so far have

05:21no issues.

05:22There are a lot of myths, apart from the, if someone would say it affects their child,

05:27like children that are not yet working.

05:30When you give them vaccines and they don't work on time, maybe a child that is not yet

05:33working at once, they will say, oh, it's just because of that vaccine, that's why the

05:37child cannot work.

05:38So yes, there are many other ones.

05:40Some will say, oh, that's sites of injection, it's going to cause maybe the child's leg to

05:47swell or something.

05:48They are different.

05:49Some people are just afraid of the injections generally.

05:51So yes, we just have to keep sensitising them.

05:56There are different channels, this is the social media age now.

06:02So yes, so we do that, we send messages to people.

06:07And most of them ask us, as healthcare workers, you just get calls from people who have heard

06:13about this vaccine.

06:14Is it safe?

06:15Is it safe?

06:16We sensitise them, we talk to them.

06:17Then also those that bring their children to the hospital, to the health centre here, we

06:20sensitise them too.

06:21And tell them that it's safe to take your children down.

06:22Then even schools, the schools around us, we talk to the teachers, we talk to the caregivers,

06:26and the parents too.

06:27That's whenever they bring any vaccine to the schools, you should accept.

06:28Yes, so we are doing that at the community level.

06:33So we are doing that at the community level.

06:51I think the government is already doing a lot because when vaccines come into the country,

07:09there are steps to preserve them.

07:11So I know they are already doing their own parts, but the government can just help in

07:15more sensitisation of the people so that whenever they come to our states, people are

07:20already ready to accept the vaccines.

07:23There can also be incentives.

07:24You know, go to market campaigns, mass campaigns, come to different health centres, give incentives

07:31so that whenever these people come, we give incentives and also sensitise them further on

07:37the vaccine.

07:50What we are looking at is eradication of malaria, which we know is a step-by-step, a gradual process.

07:59So what I'm thinking is, okay, let's get more people to get the vaccines.

08:05And before you know it, a lot of people will be safe from the sudden death, the severe malaria,

08:11anemia and all that.

08:12As the world celebrates the World Malaria Day, Nigeria's strides in ensuring a malaria-free

08:18future offers hope to all and sundry.

08:22I am Fadima Rachel, reporting for Guardian TV.

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