Nigerian Senate passed the bill for the establishment of a National Agency for Malaria Elimination on Tuesday, moving it to third reading. The bill covers the creation of the agency and other related matters aimed at tackling malaria nationwide.
Ned Nwoko of Delta North, who sponsored the bill, told Nigerians the goal is realistic. He said the agency would make Nigeria the first country in Africa to become malaria-free if the bill becomes law.
The passage came after the Senate considered and adopted a report from its Committee on Health, Secondary and Tertiary. Senator Ipalibo Harry Banigo of Rivers West chairs the committee that reviewed the bill. 
According to the committee’s report, the proposed agency would coordinate all national efforts for malaria prevention, control, and eventual elimination. It’s designed to centralize what is currently scattered across different programs.
The report stressed a major shift in strategy. Instead of focusing mainly on treatment after infection, the agency would push a preventive and elimination approach. That means more emphasis on stopping malaria before it starts.
For nationwide coverage, the committee said the agency would set up zonal and state offices across Nigeria. Its operations would be guided by a strategic plan rooted in law, science, and accountability to ensure results.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio called the legislation a landmark move in fighting malaria. He noted it’s the most common illness in the region, so a dedicated agency could change the country’s health outcomes significantly.
Speaking to journalists after the vote, Nwoko said he researched the idea as far as Antarctica with his aides before drafting the bill. He argued elimination is achievable through waste management, fumigation, and vaccine research, and the new agency would drive those efforts.
