Underestimating the malaria scourge
By Adekunle Adekoya TUESDAY April 25, 2023 was World Malaria Day, WMD. WMD is an international observance commemorated every year on April 25 and recognises global efforts to control malaria. Globally, 3.3 billion people in 106 countries are at risk of malaria. In 2012, malaria caused an estimated 627,000 deaths, mostly among African children. According to the 2021 World Malaria Report from the World Health Organisation, WHO, our country, Nigeria, contributes 27 per cent to the global malaria burden (one out of every four persons having malaria) and 32 per cent to malaria deaths globally (about one out of every three deaths). It is a coincidence that I am just recuperating from a bout of malaria, which rendered me prostrate for the better part of one week. As a fellow Nigerian, you must know what I went through in terms of the effects on my body. It is not possible to recall just how many times I have had attacks of malaria; indeed, I wager that most Nigerians who have ever had it...