Health leaders from West African countries have urged a unified, data-driven strategy to eliminate malaria, citing fragmented efforts and poor coordination as key barriers. The call was made during the 27th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Health Ministers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Freetown, Sierra Leone, on Monday. Dr Austin Demby, Sierra Leone's Minister of Health and Sanitation, stressed that malaria elimination requires collective regional action, stronger political commitment, and integration across financing, vector control, vaccination, diagnostics, treatment, and community engagement. He noted that past initiatives failed because critical components were addressed in isolation rather than as part of a coordinated framework. Demby emphasized that tackling malaria extends beyond the health sector, requiring collaboration with ministries of finance, environment, water and sanitation, gender, and communication. He pointed to countries like the United States, India, and Libya, which eliminated malaria through cohesive national strategies, questioning whether West Africa can achieve similar results through regional unity. Dr Melchior Athanase Aïssi, Director General of the West African Health Organisation (WAHO), highlighted the need for increased domestic funding while stressing that available resources must be used more efficiently. Aïssi advocated for real-time data systems to monitor progress, identify gaps, and adjust interventions promptly, saying such data improves accountability and maximizes impact. He mentioned ongoing discussions on innovative financing, including potential regional funding mechanisms, and urged countries to uphold prior commitments like the Abuja Declaration to strengthen health financing.
Dr Austin Demby highlights that malaria persists due to fragmented strategies, yet continues to rely on broad, non-specific calls for "collective action" without naming failed programmes or holding individual governments accountable. The emphasis on regional solidarity and data systems offers no immediate relief for Nigerians dying from preventable malaria complications where clinics lack basic drugs and diagnostics. If real-time data and integrated responses are critical, the absence of these tools in Nigerian communities renders the current strategy irrelevant to those most at risk. The gap between high-level declarations and on-the-ground capacity remains unaddressed.
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