The House of Representatives on Sunday urged the federal government to declare a state of emergency on malaria.

Rep. Amobi Ogah, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, gave the charge in a statement to commemorate the 2023 World Mosquito Day.

The World Mosquito Day is commemorated globally on August 20.

The theme for the 2023 commemorations is: “Fighting the World’s Deadliest Killer – the Mosquito.’’

Mr Ogah stated that considering the threat malaria poses to humanity, every effort must be geared toward eradicating the deadly mosquito.

He added that the committee was not unmindful of the challenges faced by Nigerians in the fight against malaria, even as it seemingly continued to defy solutions.

He also stated that the committee would work with relevant stakeholders to ensure that monies budgeted for the fight against malaria were judiciously used.

“According to the WHO, four African countries accounted for more than half of malaria deaths worldwide.

“Nigeria tops this list with 31.3 per cent, followed by the Democratic Republic of the Congo with 12.6 per cent; Tanzania, 4.1 per cent and Niger, 3.9 per cent,’’ he stated.

Mr Ogah stressed that there was a need to work toward malaria eradication by waging a serious war on the vector mosquito.

He charged the federal government to give more attention to eradicating mosquitoes by engaging critical stakeholders in the health sector.

He also decried the situation where, he stated, the government was not paying attention to mosquitoes.

Mr Ogah reiterated the committee’s resolve to also tackle the prevalence of fake malaria medicines in the country to stave off further deaths.

(NAN)