The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire has said the $200 million loan request is Nigeria’s counterpart fund to complement a global malaria action plan to combat malaria in Nigeria.
Ehanire made the clarification at the Bi-Weekly Press Briefing on the updates on COVID-19, Cholera, Health Promotion and other related issues in Abuja.
He said: The amount in question is actually referring to a component of the world bank assisted Multilateral Borrowing plan and it involves the African Development Bank and the Islamic bank.
The project development was done by the Ministry of Health and Ministry of budget. the purpose is for Nigeria counterpart fund to complement a global malaria action plan.
“The main donors to this rollback malaria are three. The first is the US, The US presidential malaria initiative donated 295m dollars and they are going to use that to cover 11 states, the global funds to f*ght aids, TB and malaria provide about 400m dollars for very high burden malaria in 13 States in the country to continue to roll back malaria and this leaves 13 States which have no financial support for this program.
“In order to have full coverage, for our partners to release their funds, they need these 13 States to be covered on the condition that Nigeria will provide 200m dollars for the 13 States for five years and this covers 208 LGAs, 3,536 PHCs and about 60m of the population”.
Ehanire further disclosed that experts estimate that the money averts 78,000, death, 14.5 illnesses from malaria and provide 17. 6m malaria services in these states.
