Lawmakers have expressed deep concern over the alarming rate of malaria infections in Nigeria and have emphasized the urgent need to address the issue.

Representative Amobi Godwin Ogar, Chairman of the House Committee on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Control (ATM), announced these initiatives during the committee’s inaugural meeting in Abuja.

Ogar highlighted that a significant number of Nigerians are affected by malaria, yet access to affordable drugs is limited, and the available options are prohibitively expensive.

The committee’s focus will also extend to tackling the proliferation of counterfeit and substandard malaria drugs in the country, identifying their sources, and imposing penalties.

Additionally, the committee will thoroughly examine the operations and processes of the Global Fund related to their intervention strategies in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

“I am also concerned by the havoc Malaria is wrecking on our populace and we are going to push and advocate that Malaria drugs be subsidized if not made free at all Government Health Centers. It is no rocket science that most Nigerians are affected by Malaria yet access to drugs is not readily available, while the ones available are very exorbitant.

“My vision is to see a Nigeria where malaria drugs will be given to our people free or subsidized.

“As you are all aware the Committee on ATM is saddled with the responsibility to formulate legislative measures for the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, coordinating and harmonizing activities of Government and -Governmental Agencies on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria generally to ensure the effectiveness of the efforts at HIV/AIDS and Malaria control, remedy and cure for Aids patients, oversight of all agencies under our jurisdiction and annual Budget estimates among other responsibilities under Standing Order 20 Rule 52 of the House of Representatives, 10th edition.

“Following my appointment as the substantive Chairman of the Committee by Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abbas in the 10th National Assembly, I have done extensive research in the area of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. I have also had interface and interactive meetings with key stakeholders within our purview and I must say to you all, there is work to be done.

“We are going to devise new mechanisms and approaches in our engagements and fight against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria control in our Country to make a difference and avoid the failures of the past” he noted.

Ogar affirmed that the Committee must seek new collaborations and partnerships to enhance and reinvigorate the fight against these diseases.

“We must protect our people since we are their representatives. Therefore, producers and distributors of fake and sub-standard Malaria drugs will have no hiding place under our watch. Our oversight of NACA, the core Agency of the Committee must be strategic and robust to ensure they brace up to their responsibilities. To achieve all our objectives, we are ready to partner and collaborate with relevant MDAs, Donor Agencies and NGOs. I assure you that we are ready to move mountains to ensure we succeed” he maintained.

Dr. Babatunde Rosiji, Chairman of the NMA Ekiti State Branch, has highlighted the challenges faced by patients dealing with chronic illnesses like hypertension and diabetes, who are struggling to access a consistent supply of medications due to soaring costs.

He also noted that patients are hesitating to seek early medical care due to economic constraints.

Addressing a press conference in Ekiti to commemorate the 2023 Physicians’ Week, Rosiji urged the government to take immediate action to prevent an impending crisis.

He emphasized the need for health insurance to align with the current economic realities, as the current pricing of drugs in insurance schemes is increasingly unaffordable for many Nigerians.

Furthermore, Dr. Rosiji called upon the government to reconsider its decision to discontinue funding for the Medical and Dental Council starting next year, emphasizing the importance of maintaining support to avert potential disasters in the healthcare sector.

“The job of MDCN, which is regulation of medical and dental practice is so important that funding it by the government is appropriate. If we stop funding the MDCN, I wonder who will want to do it. Probably the doctors and dentists will take over funding a body that regulates and may punish them if necessary,” he said.

The NMA chairman, who said the brain drain in the sector hurt the health and families of doctors, expressed hope that “the community we serve will recognize this and appreciate the few hands remaining rather than antagonize and fight them.

“We as an association are exploring all peaceful avenues towards securing some economic reprieve for our beloved members. Despite the increased workload occasioned by the worsening brain drain, our members across all the hospitals have taken it upon themselves to provide clinical services that are rendered seamlessly.

“I must single out the Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Biodun Oyebanji, for his dogged commitment and resolve towards making the health sector in Ekiti State work.

“While we have made a resolve to toe the path of advocacy and dialogue in the interest of Ekiti people, we have been equally blessed with a governor who has listening ears and who is accommodating of positive ideas,” Rosiji submitted.

Director-General of NAFDAC, Professor Mojisola Adeyeye gave this warning during the flag-off of the agency’s seven days awareness campaign in Port Harcourt through the NAFDAC South-South Zonal Director, Subulade Isijola.

In the same vein, she warned against the use of kerosene tankers to load groundnut oil, as well as the use of snipers in preserving any type of food or to keep flies away from meat.

She said, “the danger of buying your drugs from medicine hawkers is that most of the drugs are falsified in the first place, they are below standard, and a lot of them are expired”.

“The dangers of using expired products is that they are degraded and they have produced very toxic by-products which will destroy your kidney, liver and majority of the organs in your body”.

The NAFDAC boss said the sensitization is aimed at promoting healthy living and to “intensify effort and expand the scope of the informal and formal behaviour” change communication strategies to reach the vulnerable communities”, especially at the grassroots.

While the Mexican National Guard deploys to places like Tapachula on the country’s southern border and makes changes to its asylum protocol, agents with the country’s National Migration Institute (INM) are using an X-ray to find migrants being smuggled into the country in trucks.

Mexican officials have reported that they have apprehended at least 200 migrants hidden in trucks the last two days, using X-rays to see the people hidden inside. The Mexican security ministry also said it found 228 migrants in a routine search of a soft drink transportation truck in one of its southern states on Monday.

The INM’s new leader, former prisons chief Francisco Garduno, has overseen several high-profile busts of commercial vehicles smuggling migrants, including 800 people in four trucks the weekend he assumed control.

The Mexican authorities usually capture migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, many of which are below 16. They attempt to travel through Mexico to the United States southern border, where United States Customs and Border Protection reported nearly 133,000 arrests in May.

“We are in a full-blown emergency,” a CBP official said June 5.