Justice ministry, NAFDAC oppose bill to create malaria eradication agency

The federal ministry of justice and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) have opposed a bill seeking to establish a national agency for malaria eradication.

On May 15, a bill seeking to establish the National Agency for Malaria Eradication (NAME) passed the second reading in the senate.

The bill, sponsored by Ned Nwoko, senator representing Delta north, came up for public hearing on Thursday at the national assembly.

Imarha Reuben, the chief state counsel at the ministry of justice, said creating the agency would duplicate the responsibilities of existing institutions.

“The federal ministry of justice is against the National Agency for Malaria Eradication (Establishment) Bill 2025 SB 172 to avoid duplication of functions of existing similar agencies in line with implementation of the Orosanye report,” Reuben said.

Kolawole Maxwell, chairman of the malaria technical working group in Nigeria, also kicked against the bill.

“We recommend that the current eradication target should be changed to elimination,” he said.

“We are also suggesting that the malaria programme should be housed within a coordinated government structure to avoid fragmentation and ensure easier coordination.

“If malaria is taken out as an agency, it leads to another fragmentation of the health sector.”

Fraden Bitrus, a representative of NAFDAC, said the focus should be on strengthening existing efforts rather than creating a new agency.

However, Ismaila Haruna Dankogi, the president of the Environmental Health Officers Association (EHOA) in the federal capital territory (FCT), said the proposed agency would shift Nigeria’s malaria strategy from curative to preventive.

Chioma Amajoh, executive director of the Community Vision Initiative, also backed the proposal.

“Clinical case management of malaria in Nigeria over the decades has failed to tame the scourge,” Amajoh, popularly called Mama Malaria, said.

She urged the senate committee on health to allow the proposal to “see the light of day,” describing the agency as a springboard for coordinated action.

Ipalibo Banigo, senator representing Rivers west and chairperson of the committee, thanked stakeholders for their contributions and assured them of an objective review of all submissions.

Earlier, Senate President Godswill Akpabio said it was time to institutionalise malaria eradication through “law, science, and accountability” rather than seasonal campaigns.