The Senate has passed a bill seeking to establish the National Agency for Malaria Elimination, marking a significant step in Nigeria’s efforts to tackle one of the country’s most persistent public health challenges.
The legislation scaled third reading on Wednesday after lawmakers adopted the report of the Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary).
The bill, sponsored by Ned Nwoko, is titled “A Bill for an Act to Establish the National Agency for Malaria Elimination and for Related Matters, 2025 (SB.172).”
Presenting the committee’s report, Ipalibo Banigo said the proposed agency would coordinate national efforts aimed at preventing, controlling and ultimately eliminating malaria in Nigeria.
According to Banigo, stakeholder consultations on the bill received broad backing from health professionals, government institutions, civil society organisations and development partners. Participants included representatives of the Federal Ministry of Health, Federal Ministry of Justice, National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, Nigeria Medical Association, Joint Health Sector Union, the Environmental Health Council of Nigeria and the Nigeria End Malaria Council.
The committee said the proposed agency would shift Nigeria’s malaria response from treatment to prevention and elimination. It would also establish zonal and state offices while implementing a legally backed strategic plan focused on science, accountability and measurable outcomes.
Lawmakers adopted the term “elimination” rather than “eradication”, noting that it aligns with internationally recognised terminology for country-level malaria interventions.
Speaking after the bill’s passage, Nwoko described the development as a major milestone in the fight against malaria, insisting that elimination is achievable.
“Malaria has been eliminated in several countries around the world. It is achievable. Nigeria can end malaria, and Africa can end malaria. What is needed is focus, coordination, and political will,” he said.
The senator said the agency would provide the institutional framework needed to drive prevention programmes, environmental management, research, disease surveillance, public awareness campaigns and elimination strategies nationwide.
Nwoko added that the bill was the result of years of advocacy aimed at strengthening efforts to end malaria across Africa. He also recalled undertaking an expedition to Antarctica to draw global attention to the disease burden on the continent.
“Many people have come to accept malaria as a normal part of life. It should not be. We must move beyond treatment to elimination,” he said.
He argued that Nigeria could replicate successes recorded in other countries through improved environmental sanitation, waste management, fumigation, research and innovation.
“There is no amount of money spent to save lives that is too much. Families are still losing loved ones to malaria every day. We cannot continue to treat this as normal,” Nwoko added.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio described the legislation as a landmark intervention in the fight against malaria.
Following its passage in the Senate, the bill will proceed to the House of Representatives for concurrence before being transmitted to Bola Tinubu for assent.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Is Anthony Odiong still a priest after life in prison sentence over rape?")