Lagos Pledges to Improve Innovation, Deploy New Tools to Combat Malaria

…As firm partners Lagos to implement rollback malaria strategies
Esther Akinsola
The Lagos State government has pledged to scale innovation and deploy new tools to combat malaria, just as it restated its commitment to eradicate the disease from the state.
Speaking during an awareness walk to commemorate this year’s World Malaria Day in Lagos, the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi highlighted the essence of the theme, “Harness Innovation to Reduce the Malaria Burden and Save Lives”.
Abayomi, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, explained that the present administration is committed to tackling the bane of malaria.
The commissioner added that this would be done by using a multi-pronged approach including environmental management and integrated vector control for the prevention of malaria; effective diagnosis and appropriate treatment of malaria cases.
Others would be monitoring and evaluation with emphasis on operational research. “The use of its results for evidence-based programming remains a major public health challenge in the state.”
He, however, bemoaned that the disease remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children under-five years of age and pregnant women. He described them as the most vulnerable people to the menace.
According to Abayomi, this year’s theme highlights the fact that no single tool available today will solve the issues caused by malaria. 
Rather, he said, collective actions involving improved investments, contemporary and enhanced vector control approaches, diagnostics and antimalarial medicines would enhance the combat against the disease.
“These investments involve substantial funding, domestic support and donors. A commendable investment is the collaboration between Lagos State Ministry of Health and Godrej Nigeria Limited, producers of GoodKnight Insecticides to commemorate the Year 2022 World Malaria Day,” says the commissioner.
On his part, the Managing Director, Godrej West Africa, Chitwan Singh, pledged his company’s support to the control and elimination of malaria in Lagos, Nigeria.
He noted that it is essential for state and non-state actors to consolidate efforts in the fight against malaria leveraging public private partnership.
Singh cautioned that malaria is a challenge within control, hence, the need for collaboration to enlighten, draw attention to and involve the right tools and technology to combat the disease in a meaningful and significant way.
He encouraged: “It is important that we consolidate our efforts in the fight against malaria, and the government alone cannot do this. The fight against COVID-19 has informed us of the influence of public private partnership.
“When people join hands together and put their heads together, the best technologies are put to use. A typical example is how vaccination can be developed efficiently in a short period of time which nobody thought was possible. I think similar kinds of initiatives are required even in our fight against malaria.”
This is where companies like Godrej come in, he hinted, infusing its innovative expertise by educating, creating awareness and also ensuring accessibility to vector control innovative solutions as a core part of our strategy.