Campaigners Demand Restoration of Councils’ Environmental Health Departments
Campaigners have called for the urgent restoration and strengthening of Environmental Health Departments at the local government level, with a renewed focus on sanitation enforcement, inspection, and vector control rather than revenue generation. Speaking to mark the 2026 World Malaria Day, themed “Malaria Ends With Us: Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite,” the Convener of End Malaria in Nigeria, Francis Nwapa, advocated a multi-sectoral, science-driven approach to malaria elimination.
He said such an approach should combine environmental management, improved access to diagnostics and treatment, vaccination programmes where applicable, as well as strengthened local research and innovation. Nwapa also urged the Federal Government to develop and publish a national malaria elimination roadmap with clear timelines and accountability mechanisms. He called for increased investment in environmental health infrastructure, including drainage systems, waste management, and sanitary landfills, alongside the revival of local research institutions.
He decried Nigeria’s worsening malaria crisis, attributing it to failures in leadership, planning, and political will, despite decades of interventions. An environmental health professional and advocate of preventive approaches, Nwapa noted that more than 65 years after independence, Nigeria still lacks a clear, actionable, and measurable roadmap toward malaria elimination. He added that the country’s response has largely been reactive, characterised by donor dependency and the neglect of preventive systems that could significantly reduce transmission.
He attributed the persistence of malaria to systemic government negligence, underfunding of vaccine and medical research centres, and the growing trend of medical tourism among political elites. He further noted that poor urban planning, inadequate drainage systems, and the absence of sustained environmental sanitation have created widespread breeding grounds for mosquitoes in both urban and rural areas. Nwapa warned that the situation has entrenched malaria as a disease of poverty and governance failure, disproportionately affecting children, pregnant women, and low-income households.
On the economic impact, he said malaria continues to impose a heavy financial burden on Nigerians, with millions of households spending scarce resources on treatment, hospital visits, and medications. He added that the disease also leads to productivity losses, increased school absenteeism, and further strain on an already overstretched healthcare system, thereby deepening poverty. Although malaria is preventable, Nwapa noted that the country has continued to prioritise treatment over prevention.
He explained that the unchecked proliferation of mosquito breeding sites, such as stagnant water, blocked drainage systems, refuse dumps, and poorly managed environments, remains the primary driver of transmission. He criticised periodic environmental sanitation exercises as outdated and ineffective, arguing that Nigeria needs a modern, science-driven, and continuous environmental management system. This, he said, should include household waste sorting, efficient waste collection and evacuation, the development of engineered sanitary landfills, and data-driven vector surveillance and environmental monitoring.
Nwapa further stressed that malaria prevention strategies must reflect Nigeria’s living conditions. According to him, the consistent use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets is often impractical due to poor electricity supply, inadequate housing, overcrowding, and high temperatures, which make their use uncomfortable. He called for reforms in sanitation policies, improved housing standards, expanded access to reliable electricity, and strengthened primary healthcare systems for early diagnosis and treatment.
Nwapa also urged public officials to end the culture of medical tourism and reinvest in Nigeria’s healthcare system. He maintained that malaria should no longer be killing Nigerians in 2026, adding that eliminating the disease is achievable with strong political will, scientific thinking, and a decisive shift toward prevention.
